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Shell Games and Paper Farms
The leaders of Congress' Agriculture Committees continue to deliberate the next farm bill in secret, and the conventional wisdom now is that direct payments may see cuts or be entirely banished in the final product. We hope so.
In a reminder as to how badly broken our food and farm programs have become, the Environmental Working Group released a new Direct Payment Database yesterday (Nov 11). It gives taxpayers a look behind the complex agriculture partnerships and corporations that got the lion's share of $4.7 billion in federal direct payments to farmers in 2009. And it shows that the ten agribusinesses receiving the biggest payouts raked in a total of $5.4 million. The biggest of those payments went to large agribusinesses in the southern states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi.
The EWG database also smokes out the names of the individuals who ultimately cashed the subsidy checks. Their identities have been hidden by these corporate structures and not publicly disclosed by the US Department of Agriculture since the 2008 farm bill.
Direct payments, promoted as a safety net for working farm and ranch families, are in reality annual cash giveaways to the most profitable businesses in farm country. The average crop subsidy payment to the top ten recipients in 2009 was $542,172 apiece – about 10 times more than the average American earns annually. A total of 160 individuals ultimately collected payments through these 10 farm enterprises.
The recipient of the single biggest direct payment was Ratio Farms in Helena, Ark. EWG's database identifies the 26 individuals who cashed in on the operation's $874,666 in subsidy payments. Each one received about $33,600 in 2009 – barely $6,000 below USDA's $40,000 limit on how much each "person" is eligible to receive annually under this program.
In our 2010 EWG farm subsidy database update released earlier this year, we were unable to identify individual recipients because the USDA now only provides this information on a "program by program" basis, making it easier for many of the individual beneficiaries to shield their receipt of tax dollars behind "paper farms" and corporate shell games. EWG obtained the additional data under the federal Freedom of Information Act and is still waiting for the 2010 records.
Since the early 90s, we've worked to transform USDA's current system of direct payments into a program that would actually target assistance to working farm and ranch families that need help to stay on the land, but until now the Big Ag subsidy lobby has blocked all attempts at meaningful reform. Now it is time to simply end direct payments, which are finally in the budget cross hairs as Congress works to reduce the federal deficit. Reformers, however, are still fighting a full-court press by entrenched corporate ag interests, which want to replace the handouts with an expensive new entitlement to guarantee the business income of the very same highly profitable farm businesses that have long profited from direct payments.
That's is the wrong way to go. Instead, this is what we at EWG would like to see happen:
• Eliminate direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, loan deficiency payments, ACRE (Average Crop Revenue Election) and SURE (Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments).
• Provide every farmer with a FREE crop insurance policy that covers yield losses of more than 30 percent and eliminate federal premium and other subsidies for revenue-based or other crop insurance products.
• Have the federal government take bids from insurance companies to service these policies, eliminating insurers' recent windfall profits and encouraging the private sector to develop and offer innovative options for farmers to increase insurance coverage – but not at taxpayers' expense.
• Require producers to meet a basic standard of conservation practices in order to be eligible for publicly financed crop insurance.
• Ensure full transparency by requiring USDA to disclose who is getting the free policies, the cost to taxpayers and how much farmers receive in insurance payouts.


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If you're looking for a decently made, economical all around camp knife that's rugged, well built, as well as visually appealing – look no further than the Garuda by Condor Tool & Knife. Designed by Joe Flowers, an outdoorsman from North Carolina, this knife is tough enough to do it all. This is an economically priced, large fixed blade. Don't look for perfection in every curve, but it is well made and sturdy. The 5″ 1075 high carbon steel blade is epoxy powder coated to assist in corrosion resistance and full tang for added strength. The Micarta handles are oversized for use with gloves or for those with larger hands and it is nicely curved and contoured to fit the hand excellently. It comes with a very sharp convex grind and ballistic nylon sheath that can be attached to your belt or MOLLE gear no problem. Check out this awesome new camp knife from Condor at www.knifecenter.com.
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Newman's Own Organics - Organic Black Tea - 100 Tea Bags (7.1 oz)
Newman's Own Organics Organic Black Tea is made from a family blend of black tea. This special blend of black tea is certified organic by QAI. Tea lovers, a new line of organic teas has come your way! According to the Tea Association of the USA, Americans consumed well over 50 billion servings of tea in 2006; which is over 2.25 billion gallons. While some drink tea for simple enjoyment, others know that black and green teas contain flavonoids - naturally occurring compounds believed to have antioxidant properties. There is a growing body of international scientific research about tea's healthful properties and its potential roles in many areas of well-being. For many, however, it just tastes good and is a versatile pick-me-up. From starting the morning with a brisk cup of black tea to iced tea with meals and a cup to relax with later in the day, tea is a perfect day-long beverage throughout the seasons.Good FoodThat's what they kept in mind when they created their products. they focus on the kinds of products they loved as kids, but take them one step further by using the highest quality of available organic ingredients.
They find that people really want to know how the ingredients are grown and processed on the way to their grocer's shelf. When people see how much organic foods have improved since the early days of packaged 'health' foods, they hope they'll try other organic food products.What's Organic?The materials below were developed by the USDA National Organic Program in 1994 and serve as a general outline of the definition of Organic as it will be used in the United States.
DefinitionOrganic agriculture is a holistic system with the primary goal of optimizing the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals, and people. Management practices are carefully selected with an intent to restore and then maintain ecological harmony on the farm, its surrounding environment and ultimately the whole planetary ecosystem.
IntroductionThe Organic Farm Plan is central to demonstrating progressive improvement of practices and measuring evolution of the management system as a whole towards greater sustainability. In this context, record- keeping is a key management tool for identifying problems and successful adaptations. PrinciplesProtect the environment, minimize pollution, promote health and optimize biological productivity. The primary goal of organic production systems is optimizing environmental health, human health and biological productivity. Organic producers therefore seek to reduce or eliminate reliance on practices and inputs (natural and synthetic) that may harm soil life, deplete nonrenewable resources, pose a hazard to water and air quality, or threaten the health of farmworkers or consumers.
Replenish and maintain long-term soil fertility by providing optimal conditions for soil biological activity. The health of the soil is fundamental to the health of the whole system, and may be evaluated by the extent and vitality of its biological activity. "Feed the soil, not the plant," continues to be a primary tenet of ecologically sound soil management. Fertility improvement practices must balance physical, chemical and biological considerations to optimize the quantity and diversity of soil organisms. Such practices may include a combination of crop rotations, rotational grazing of livestock, cover crops, intercropping, green manures, recycling of plant and animal wastes, tillage, and judicious application of essential mineral nutrients.
Maintain diversity within the farming system and its surroundings and protect and develop plant and wildlife habit. Biological diversity is a key ecological precept, essential to stability and therefore to sustainability. Diversity must be enhanced in every aspect of organic production, including the selection of inputs, crop varieties, livestock breeds, rotation cycles and pest management strategies. The principle of diversity can be similarly applied to personal skills, social interactions, and economic decisions.
Recycle materials and resources to the greatest extent possible within the farm and its surrounding community as part of a regionally organized agricultural system. Organic systems intensively manage the individual farm system and use biologically-based inputs in preference to petroleum-based inputs. Soil and plant nutrients depleted through cropping and natural leaching are replenished by nutrient sources from within the farm and the surrounding community. Energy expended in transportation, manufacturing and handling of agricultural inputs and products is minimized to the greatest extent possible.
Provide attentive care, that meets both health and behavioral requirements of farm animals. Farm animals must be managed to prevent health problems through a focus on diet, housing, handling and observation. Organically produced feed, in conjunction with care and living conditions which minimize stress, is the foundation of a health promoting management system. Attentive care for the healthy animal is a fundamental precept of organic livestock management.
Maintain the integrity and nutritional value of organic food and processed products through each step of the process from planting to consumption. Organically grown food and processed products must be processed, manufactured, and handled to preserve their healthful qualities and maintain the principles of the organic management system. Ingredients, additives and processing aids used in organic processed products must be consistent with the overall principles or organic production. Consumers should be provided with the assurance that products bearing organic labels are certified organic by independent verification from seed through sale.Develop and adopt new technologies with consideration for their long range social and ecological impact. New practices, materials and technologies must be evaluated according to established criteria for organic production. It is assumed that organic production systems will progress toward sustainablity over time through technical innovation and social evolution.Newman's Own Organics Questions & Answers Which of your products are considered Vegan?Certain products they carry do not have added animal by-products in them but are manufactured on equipment that processes other products containing animal ingredients. There could be trace amounts of egg or milk powder in any of their products. their products which do not include animal ingredients or animal by-products are: All Pretzels; Wheat Free-Dairy Free Fig Newmans; All Newman O's; All Hermits; Chocolate ABC Cookies (Cinnamon and Arrowroot ABCs are vegan except for the added honey); Pop's Corn 94% Fat Free (No Butter/No Salt); Dark Chocolate, Espresso Dark Chocolate, Orange Dark Chocolate, Super Dark Chocolate; All Licorice Twists; All Mints; Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar; All Royal Tea; All Coffee.
Why does Newman's Own Organics use plastic and other materials of this nature to package food? What about more environmentally friendly methods?They are so glad you are learning about how to take care of the world we live in. It is the only one we have and taking care of it should be a priority. The men and women at Newman's Own Organics are also concerned about the environment which is why they support sustainable agriculture and produce organic products. Organic products must have months of shelf life to compete at retail level. Rather than use preservatives they use packaging that will insure freshness.
Do you carry any products that are gluten free?Some of their gluten free products include their: Chocolate Bars, Chocolate Cups, and No Salt/No Butter Pop's Corn, Olive Oil, and their Balsamic Vinegar. Note: All of these items are manufactured on equipment that processes products containing gluten. There could be trace amounts of egg, milk powder, peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, and soy in any of their items. their Wheat-Free/Dairy-Free items do have a type of gluten known as glutenin and gliadin, which is found in barley flour.
Do your products contain GE (Genetically Engineered) organisms?The USDA's National Organic Program does not allow the use of GEs in organic food products. All ingredients both organic and non organic must be grown without the use of GE seed.
What is the difference between Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil in regards to saturated fats?Palm Fruit Oil is only 51% saturated as compared to Palm Kernel Oil at 83%.
Why do you use palm oil?Their experience has shown them that Palm Fruit Oil Palm Oil creates better tasting products when used in certain commercial baking processes, particularly in the cell structure of their cookie dough. They recognize that there are other less saturated oils and they tried using them during the product development of their items and found they did not create as good a product as palm oil. While organic palm oil is a saturated fat, it is not as saturated as palm kernel oil or coconut oil (the other two tropical oils). Palm Fruit Oil is only 51% saturated as compared to Palm Kernel Oil at 83% and Coconut at 92%. In fact, it is close to the saturated fat level of butter but contains no cholesterol. It is used by other natural food manufacturers and has been widely used in Europe for decades as a fat in cookies and crackers. They recognize that there are trade-offs in creating good tasting, popular foods made with organic ingredients, that have some nutritional benefits and are reasonably priced. It's not that easy, but that is what they strive to do.
Where does your Palm Oil come from?Newman's Own Organics uses Organic Palm Oil that comes from large co-ops in Colombia. Their Organic Palm Oil Supplier is certified according to the standards of Pro Forest. The standards are quite high regarding the treatment of employees and whether the company is socially and environmentally responsible. The Organic certification also takes the social aspect very much into account.About Newman's Own OrganicsCompanyNewman's Own Organics was established as a division of Newman's Own in 1993, and became a separate company in late 2001. The sale of Newman's Own Organics products generates money for the Newman's Own Foundation to give away. Since 1982 Paul Newman and the Newman's Own Foundation have donated more than $350 million dollars to educational and charitable organizations worldwide.
PrincipalsNell Newman, Co-founder and Pres: Product Development and Marketing.Peter Meehan, Co-founder and CEO: Sales and Marketing; New Product Opportunities
Product CertificationCertified organic by Oregon Tilth. Ingredients have been grown on farms that have not used artificial fertilizers or pesticides for three years or more. The farms and processors have been certified by an independent third party. Kosher certification by Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, 333 Seventh Avenue, New York.
Product PackagingThe front of each product features an American Gothic "Pa" Newman and daughter Nell in appropriate costume with an accompanying legend on the package; each variety has a color band or colored packaging for easy identification.
How to Brew a Perfect Cup of Royal Tea
Microwave instructions:
Milk, sugar, or lemon may be added.
Ingredients: Organic Black Tea
Do not put the tea bag into the microwave. There is a metal staple in the tea bag.
Newman's Own Organics was established as a division of Newman's own in 1993, and became a separate company in late 2001. Paul Newman has given over $200 million to thousands of charities worldwide since 1982.
100% 27 of 27 reviewers would recommend this product to a friend.
For decades, I have only steeped loose leaf tea, developing a disdain for most bagged tea. Newman's tea is an exception - decent for a bagged tea and organic. There are better bagged teas but not at this price. Not an especially flavorful tea, but not the usual cardboard pulp flavor of what you find in most stores. Even if you are a tea aficionado, keep a box around for convenience, toddys or for guests who think 1st flush refers to plumbing.
Was this review helpful?
Makes great iced tea!!
Love these for making kombucha.
I found this company on the internet when looking for Newman's Own organic tea--it's not sold everywhere. I was surprised to find it sold here at a third of the price of anywhere else! No problems ordering and smooth sailing getting the tea in a couple days rather than a week or more on other sites. Not sure how they did it, but I was impressed, and I'm not easily impressed.
The Product is always good, Newman's own Makes Quality stuff. The order was handled as it always is with you, Good, Fast and Efficient, nothing more to want. Thanks..
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Organic Black Tea - 100 Tea Bags
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patterns > doviejay's Ravelry Shop
> Valancy's Island
Valancy's Island
Finished Measurements:
• Wingspan 62" (157.5 cm)
• Depth at Center Back 19" (48.25 cm)
Materials: 1 skein (875 yards/100 grams) Tactile Fiber Arts Studio Ferndale Lace (100% Merino), color Kelp
Needles: size US 2 (2.75 mm) long circular, optional pointy double-pointed needle for bind off
Extras: at least 4 stitch markers, tapestry needle for weaving in ends, blocking tools
Gauge: 30 sts and 40 rows over 4" in stockinette stitch, post blocking
Be aware that any difference in gauge will change the size of your finished shawl, as well as the amount of yarn you need to knit it - more stitches to the inch will mean a smaller shawl using less yarn, and vice versa.
This shawl starts with a starter tab and works out and down, combining edge increases with periodic increases in the middle of the work - the rows in the Stockinette Section which have yarn overs. The last of these increase rows happens right before the lace.
When the pattern calls for you to "work plain", work either RS or WS Rows as they appear in the Definitions section.
The Woods Chart is bordered by faggoting, which has pattern stitches on both the right and wrong sides. In those rows you work plain up to the marker at the edge of the Woods Chart, work from the chart, and then work plain to the end of the row.
The picot bind off may be a little tricky but it blocks beautifully. It may help to have a super pointy double-pointed needle to work the bind off.
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I'll Just Have The Salad, Thanks.
Never before has a delicious food made to look like another delicious food made me want to LOSE my food quite...like... this:
To be fair, this is exactly what pizza looks like - if you make it with old Cheez Whiz, moldy beet slices, algae, and blueberries. (AKA the "Nothing beets berry cheesy seaweed!" special.)
I was about to ask why someone would make a cake that looks like cherry pie...
...but then I realized no one did.
[What do you mean, "no one says that anymore?" I just heard some hep cat on the YouTubes saying it last week! Stop crammin' my jive, H-dub.]
[I do SO know what I'm saying, John. You're just jelly of my lyrical songifications, mug-buzz.]
Not entirely sure what's happening here, but I'll tell you this:
That's fowl.
"See, just imagine the caramel sauce as glistening rivulets of semi-congealed grease, and the green stuff as... Hey! Where are you going?"
And finally, put down that coffee, and allow me to introduce you to...
Cockroach Steak: the other other white meat.
All hail Greg, Emily H., Lindsay I., and Erica R., slayers of appetites!


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Inspired by Picasso's Cubist period this stylish piece is a perfect statement for an artistic soul.
Santi is one of our girl students - sponsored by Social Gem. 50% of profit from the sale of this bracelet goes to pay for Santi's and other disadvantaged girls' education. This includes school fees (school is not free in many countries), uniforms, shoes and textbooks.
Please share this page on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. The more you share - the more we can help girls like Santi to go to school.
Sweet multi-strand charm bracelet made with clear glass seedbeads. Stretch design makes it comfortable and easy, no fiddling with pesky clasps! Colors: Clear, Turquoise and Lime Sherbet Stretch design This is...
You will truly be an angel when you wear these sweet hand-made Angel Earrings! Because half the profits goes to educating girls in Indonesia, saving them from poverty, you can...
Black Lava is a grounding bracelet, featuring beads made from lava stone from the sacred Bali Batur volcano. Wear it when you feel the need to be grounded.Every month, during...


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*since these were impressively sturdy cabinets we decided to re-purpose them as garage storage*
just look at all that visual space!
Once the offending cabinets (shown here on the floor waiting to be carried to their new home) had come down from the wall we began planning a shallower pantry cabinet to fill this wall. After sketching and debating for several days Jess finally set to work building my pantry, eek!
At 7' tall and 5' wide this is a much more suitable fit for this space!
Here is the beginnings of the new pantry cabinet. In order to make the best use of the limited space we have in our kitchen we opted for a shallower floor to ceiling pantry. The new cabinet measures just 13" deep but with six shelves we are sure we will have ample storage for everything. Personally I find it is a lot easier to keep a shallow pantry tidy rather than the extra deep ones that things get lost in!
Here is the cabinet as of this morning. Hopefully by this weekend it will be finished and then I can fill/sand/prime and paint while Jess starts on the doors.
We are off this weekend on a camping trip with my son's school, which is perfect timing since the sawdust and tools are really starting to get old!
I hope you also have a fabulous weekend!


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HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A judge will decide if a fight between Legendary Pictures and the producers of its new film, "Godzilla," will go into arbitration, The Hollywood Reporter said.
Legendary and producers Roy Lee, Dan Lin and Doug Davidson have been locked in a battle since the production company decided to boot the three men, saying they did little work on the film, scheduled to be released in 2014.
Lee, Lin and Davidson said they brought the film to Legendary and signed an agreement saying they will be paid.
Lawyers for Legendary said they have a 2011 draft contract with the three producers saying any disputes such as this one should play out privately in arbitration.
The producers said they want the dispute to go to court where they perceive they might have leverage with the prospect of internal Legendary information becoming public. They said they never signed the 2011 agreement requiring arbitration.
Private arbitration company JAMS told both sides it is allowing Superior Court Judge Abraham Kahn to determine whether the case should play out in public or private.


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CA Data Content Discovery helps you identify data exposure risks on z Systems by scanning through the mainframe data infrastructure. Data that is scanned includes data that may be highly regulated in multiple vertical sectors or other non-public data sources deemed critical to your business. By discovering where the data is located, classifying the data to determine sensitivity level and providing comprehensive reporting on the scan results, data can be protected and exposure risks can be mitigated.
Identifying the location of the data is the key to help mitigate risk associated with the retention of data. Once the location is known, the right business decisions can be made to secure, encrypt, archive, or delete the data identified.
Gain critical insight into the magnitude of potential data exposure on z Systems™.
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The breadth and depth of a missionary's experience are defined by his or her purpose: to invite others to come unto Christ.
The alarm clock's steady, rhythmic buzz cuts through the quiet apartment. 6:30 again—the start of another day. Another day of studying, praying, planning, working, teaching, helping, and serving. Another day to cherish. Another day as a missionary.
When each of the more than 75,000 full-time missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arises each day, many different activities and experiences may await him or her—lessons, visits, and meetings; plans that go smoothly and plans that fall through; acceptance and rejection; and a lot of hard work and prayer.
Throughout it all, the common thread of mission life is a missionary's purpose: "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end" (Preach My Gospel [2004], 1).
"When missionaries have internalized the purpose of bringing people to Christ through the principles and ordinances of the restored gospel, they will understand that missionary work is not a program. It is a cause—the cause of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They will understand that they are not salesmen or technicians but divinely authorized and commissioned teachers of righteousness. They will understand that the world has no access to atoning grace and salvation but through them and the Church they represent, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will understand what they and this work are all about, and they will be up and about their Father's business. As the sons of Mosiah, they will teach 'with power and authority of God' (Alma 17:3)" (Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, seminar for new mission presidents, June 22, 2008).
To get ideas for how a missionary's purpose can begin to permeate all areas of your life, take a look at some of the things missionaries do in a typical week.
Planning Sessions
Using time wisely is an important part in building the kingdom of God and in every stage of your life. Could you manage your time better? Find out how in Chapter 8 of Preach My Gospel.
Missionaries have a two- to three-hour goal-setting and planning session once a week and a shorter session at the end of each day. As with everything they do, their daily and weekly planning sessions are focused on their purpose. Their planning is based on more than just a schedule; it's based on prayer, inspiration, and a concern for the needs of others as they come unto Christ. For instance, missionaries plan visits with investigators to teach and follow up, they plan visits with members to help them share the gospel with others, and they plan activities centered around finding, teaching, baptizing, and confirming people.
"The Lord deserves our very best, and we cannot give that to Him without good, careful planning.
"If you plan well, you will have promptings, elders and sisters, telling you the things you should do, and you'll have some promptings telling you things you should not do. The power of this work is when we get to the point in our relationships with Heavenly Father that we know the voice of the Spirit, and we know it so well that we know exactly what we should do" (Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, devotional address at the Provo Missionary Training Center, June 25, 2002).
"Meaningful goals and careful planning will help you accomplish what the Lord requires of you. As you care for the people in your assigned area, you will account to Him and to your mission leaders" (Preach My Gospel [2004], 137).
Sincere prayer is a vital part of every stage of missionary work. Learn from Church leaders why prayer is important and how you can make your prayers more meaningful.
Prayer becomes second nature to missionaries. They pray individually every morning and night and carry a prayer in their hearts throughout the day. They pray as companionships when they plan, study, teach, and eat together. They teach people how to pray. They pray with investigators and members. They know that their success hinges on having the Spirit with them and that "the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach" (D&C 42:14).
Daily Personal and Companionship Study
Whether you are a full-time missionary or a member missionary, daily scripture study will enhance your ability to live and share the gospel. Learn how you can use online study tools to make your daily study more effective.
It is essential for missionaries to study daily—one hour by themselves, one hour as a companionship, plus, for some, an extra 30–60 minutes for language study. They focus on the scriptures and the doctrines of the lessons in Preach My Gospel.
"I frequently say to missionaries in the field, 'You make or break your mission every morning of your life. You tell me how those morning hours go from 6:30 a.m. until you are on the street in your mission, whatever time it is; you tell me how those hours go, and I will tell you how your day will go, I will tell you how your month will go, I will tell you how your year will go and how your mission and your life will go'" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, seminar for new mission presidents, June 26, 2011).
Teaching People
You don't have to wait to be a full-time missionary to teach people. Start today by creating a Mormon.org profile and sharing it with others.
Whether they're in a home, on the street, at church, or online, missionaries teach and testify of the doctrines of the restored gospel, help people feel and recognize the Spirit, and invite people to make commitments to do the things that will help them become converted, including studying the Book of Mormon, praying to know the truth, repenting of sins, keeping the commandments, and attending church.
The basic teachings missionaries share with people are found in chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel. Missionaries study and internalize these doctrines and principles so that they know what to teach and so that they can follow the Spirit and adapt their teaching to the needs of each person.
Making Follow-Up Visits with People
When people have agreed to make a commitment to do something, missionaries try to follow up with them frequently—daily if possible. Missionaries encourage them, answer questions, resolve concerns, promise them that God will bless them, and offer any other help they can so that they will follow through with their commitments. For instance, missionaries might read from the Book of Mormon together with a person who has committed to read it but has not yet done so. Other commitments can be very hard for people to keep, such as the commitment to quit smoking or quit drinking alcohol. Missionaries give them support and offer them many ideas for overcoming the addictive behavior.
"Change can be hard. Your role is to help strengthen people in their resolve to change. You should do all you can to help people keep their commitments. …
"You have not finished your ministry until people are living these commitments, or in other words, until they have repented (see 3 Nephi 18:32)" (Preach My Gospel [2004], 200).
Church Meetings
Do you want to invite someone to a Church meeting but you're afraid they'll be offended? Learn from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland how to extend invitations that will not be seen as offensive.
Missionaries know that attending church several times before being baptized provides investigators a better chance of remaining active in the Church afterward. At church, investigators feel the Spirit, and missionaries introduce them to Church members and help them become familiar with what goes on in Church meetings.
To get from point A to point B in their day-to-day work, missionaries use whatever mode of transportation is available to them. In many places, that means walking. In other places, there are more options, such as bicycles or public transportation. Some missionaries are even given cars to drive. Often, however, missionaries don't just travel from one place to another as efficiently as they can. Instead, they may choose a mode of transportation that allows them opportunities to share the gospel with people they may meet as they travel, because missionaries should "talk with as many people as [they] can each day" (Preach My Gospel [2004], 156).
Preparation Day
One day a week is set aside as missionaries' preparation day. It's not really a day off; it's more like a day to do all of the things they don't have time to do on any other day—like writing family, doing laundry, cleaning, shopping, and getting a haircut. They also participate in some cultural and recreational activities. But the purpose of this day is to help the missionaries be more productive, focused, and prepared during the rest of the week. And it's not even a whole day, actually. They go out and engage in normal missionary activities from 6:00 p.m. until the end of the day.
District Meetings and Zone Conferences
Every week missionaries in the same local area meet for a district meeting for 60–90 minutes. One of the elders is the district leader and conducts the weekly meeting. The missionaries learn from one another through training, discussing challenges, and sharing testimonies and experiences. They also talk about how their investigators are progressing.
Every three months missionaries in several districts hold a zone conference, which is held under the direction of the mission president. Many of the missionaries will have to travel to these meetings, which are usually longer than the district meetings and can cover a wide range of topics.
Working with Members
Wondering how you can work with the missionaries in your area? Watch and learn how you can participate in the work of salvation today.
Church members and missionaries work together in a number of ways, and missionaries devote a good deal of attention to fostering good relationships with the members wherever they serve. Working with bishops and ward mission leaders, missionaries help members share the gospel, and they visit and strengthen those who are not active in the Church. As every missionary learns, "Local Church leaders and members are your best allies" (Preach My Gospel, 217). To see how members and missionaries work together, go to HasteningTheWork.lds.org.
Baptisms and Confirmations
When a person accepts the missionaries' invitation to be baptized, it is a moment of great joy. That joy is multiplied when that person, having overcome all obstacles, is actually standing in the waters of baptism, entering into a sacred covenant. Then that person can be confirmed as a member of the Church and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"The purpose of our missionary work is to help the children of God fulfill a condition prescribed by our Savior and Redeemer. We preach and teach in order to baptize the children of God so that they can be saved in the celestial kingdom instead of being limited to a lesser kingdom. We do missionary work in order to baptize and confirm. That is the doctrinal basis of missionary work" (Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Why Do We Do Missionary Work?" New Era, Sept. 2009, 2).
Serving Others
Missionaries aren't the only ones who should be serving others. If you're looking for ideas on how you can serve, visit the Church's Service Opportunities web page.
Missionaries are encouraged to participate in some sort of community service activity each week, as approved by the mission president. In addition, they are encouraged to listen to the Spirit at all times "to recognize opportunities for small, simple acts of kindness that [they] can offer to God's children" (Preach My Gospel, 168). They serve out of a love for all of God's children and a desire to help them, but they also are mindful of people who may want to know more about their message as a result of this service.
Find Out More
Learn more about preparing for missionary service, with videos, resources, and answers to frequently asked questions. To learn more about mission life, see the October 2013 New Era.


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- 1 Submit Online
- 2 Fast Lender Approval
- 3 Cash in Your Account
How to get a Payday Loan in Memphis, TN fast and safe
It's quick and easy to get $100 - $1000 Payday Loan in Memphis, Tennessee even if you have a Bad Credit. The requirements are simple and the process is as easy as ABC. It takes only some minutes to apply, get an instant decision and if you are approved, which happens in the vast majority of cases, receive the money within 24 hours. Read our detailed guide to the borrowing process and feel confident to start your application right now.
Well, at first let's figure out what options you have looking for the best Payday Loan. Obviously there're two main ways to apply for cash advance - online and in-store. Check out how the process goes in each case.
How to get a Payday Loan in Memphis, Tennessee online.
Check your credit score to understand what amounts, terms and rates you can expect as all these factors may depend on your credit.
Find out if you qualify for a loan.
Payday Loans are small-dollar short -term cash advance which is rather easy and fast to get. That's why eligibility criteria are very simple:
- US residence
- Minimum regular income of $1,000 per month
- Valid checking or savings account with direct deposit
- Phone number and e-mail address (if applying online, you must be able to be contacted via phone if verification of application information is necessary)
- Not be a regular or reserve member of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps or Navy (or be a dependent of someone who is,) serving on active duty under a call or order that does not specify a period of 30 days or fewer.
- If applying Online, you must provide a valid Social Security Number
- If applying at Loan Store, you must bring a valid government issued photo ID. A Social Security Number might not be required
- If applying in-store, you must bring proof of income and proof of a bank checking account. Debit cards or pre-printed checks may be accepted in your state as proof of bank checking account; contact your local store for details. Acceptable documents may vary by state.
Prepare all the necessary documents.
- Proof of income: recent pay stubs or bank statements;
- A state-issued ID, such as a driver's license or an identification card.
- If you borrow online – prepare the proof that you have a bank account and the routing number to it so that the lender could withdraw the amount directly from your account.
- If you borrow in a store take a blank check where you can write the necessary amount and fees to ensure the lender you pay the loan back.
Many Payday lenders have a lot of complaints and are characterized as scammers. If you are afraid to deal with them consider other Payday Loan alternatives.
Consider other loan options in Memphis, Tennessee.
- Try to work out an extension plan. In case you have fallen behind your payments because of some emergency situations like disease, car break or the like, and the creditor can see that you are a responsible borrower willing to repay the loan he'll gladly agree to plan some affordable regular partial repayments for you.
- Apply for a personal loan from a bank, credit union or online direct lender. Personal Installment loans have longer terms and lower rates which makes it easier to repay. Besides you can use them to consolidate an existing debt.
- Apply for a payday loan from a credit union. They may offer up to $1000 cash advance at lower interest rates and for longer period up to 6 months. But you must be a member of this credit union.
- Ask your employer for an advance on your next paycheck.
- Use your bank's overdraft protection, or in other words ask to take out more money than you have in your account. You may be charged a little fee for that but it will cost cheaper than a Payday Loan.
- Avoid using "bounce protection" overdraft. The APR on these programs can reach 1,000%.
- Ask your friends or family for help, and you'd better sign the agreement in writing not to damage the relationship between you and close people.
- Call or write to the companies that you owe money to and try to negotiate a more manageable repayment plan.
- Take some cash from a credit card. It usually offers lower interest.
- Sell something you don't: DVDs or CDs, a Playstation, etc.
- Try to earn some extra money, maybe apply for a part-time job.
- Address your local social services center and find out if you are eligible for programs offering help with food, energy, and child care bills.
- Cut down on your expenses on recreation. Go to the park or free exhibition instead of restaurants and expensive concerts.
- Don't be shy to ask for assistance from non-profit organizations, or special financial services helping to manage your expenses.
Apply for a Payday Loan online from a direct lender in Memphis.
- Go to the lender's website and find an application form.
- Look what information is required to fill in and read the disclaimer and especially the fine print very carefully.
- Make sure your personal data will be protected by the lender and won't be used to hurt you. Mostly the following things are written in the application:
- Date of birth and name
- Contact information
- Bank account information
- Employment and employer information
- Select the necessary amount and the state you live in to see the accurate rates and fees you'll be charged. You may need to read more details on restrictions set on Payday lending in your state.
- As you've filled out the application go through it once again to check that you have filled everything in correctly. Double check the fees that will apply.
- Submit the application.
- Wait for approval. Usually it doesn't take loan, sometimes you can expect an instant decision but in most cases you'll receive a confirmation e-mail within 3 days.
Get the money in Memphis, Tennessee.
As soon as you are approved you may expect to get the money within 1-2 business days. It'll be deposited into your bank account if you borrow online, and you may get it the same day, even in an hour if you go to a Payday loan store.
Repay the loan.
Do your best to pay back the loan on time. On a due date the lender will either withdraw the necessary amount directly from your bank account or cash the check. In case there are insufficient funds on your account the lender may take partial payments or charge you NSF fee. Some lenders may still go on collecting interest until you have paid back your debt in full.
If you can't pay off the loan on a due date consider the following options:
- Extend the loan. The renewal fee will cost you less than high interest charged for not paying on time.
- Apply for a repayment plan. In some states lenders are prohibited to charge any additional fees for this service.
- Try to avoid any other loans to pay off this one as it may lead even to more debt.
- If you default the loan follow this advice to avoid high-cost fees, penalties or even court.
It takes only a few minutes


text: Been running about a week or so with my new build and have gone with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and so far I'm really digging it. And the install was easier than any windows install I've done. It just worked. Only a couple things I have found I can't do (or do easily atleast) that I might need windows for (netflix, and watching bluray), so may eventually install it dual boot style or perhaps run windows virtually on it. But for now I'm 100% Linux.


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I know I have almost every type of dog drawing there is as far as pose, paw, and style go. Today I thought that a cute tutorial on "how to draw a puppy face", step by step would be something that everyone could enjoy. There really isn't much to say about this lessons description because the whole thing is based on the head or face of a dog. Puppies are one of the cutest pets to own when they are still young. As soon as they get to be around ten months old, they start loosing that puppy luster, and sad to say it, but they also start loosing a majority of our attention. That is why drawing a puppy face only seemed right to make. I mean I have everything else, why not a tutorial on "how to draw a puppy face" too. I guess that just about does it for now, I will be back in a few with more drawing fun so keep your eyes peeled to see what else pops your way. Adios people, and have an awesome day!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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Rule 6-6. Pauper's Oath And Motions For Attorney's Fees In Criminal Cases.
(a) Jurisdiction of request to proceed in forma pauperis. When a criminal case is appealed to the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, a request to proceed in forma pauperis may be filed with the appellate court at any time after the record is docketed with the clerk of the court. Prior to the docketing of the record with the clerk of the appellate court, the trial court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to consider a request to proceed in forma pauperis. Any petition or motion requesting to proceed in forma pauperis that is filed with the appellate court before the record is docketed with the clerk of the court shall be returned for failure to comply with this Rule.
(b) Pauper's oath and affidavit; requirement. A petition or motion filed with the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals requesting to proceed in forma pauperis be accompanied by an assertion of indigency, verified by a supporting affidavit. The affidavit form will be provided by the Clerk of the Court for such purposes. Any petition or motion not in compliance with this Rule will be returned to the petitioner or counsel for failure to comply.
(c) Form for affidavit in support of request to proceed in forma pauperis. The form of the affidavit shall be as follows:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS OR ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS ________________ PETITIONER V. NO. ___ STATE OF ARKANSAS RESPONDENT AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF REQUEST TO PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS I, ______________, being first duly sworn, depose and say that I am the petitioner in the above entitled case; that in support of my motion to proceed without being required to prepay fees, costs or give security therefor, I state that because of my poverty I am unable to pay the costs of said proceeding or to give security therefor; that I believe I am entitled to redress. I further swear that the responses which I have made to questions and instructions below are true. 1. Are you presently employed? Yes ___ No ___ (a) If the answer is yes, state the amount of your salary or wages per month, and give the name and address of your employer. (b) If the answer is no, state the date of last employment and the amount of the salary and wages per month which you received. 2. Have you received within the past twelve months any money from any of the following sources? (a) Business, profession or any form of self-employment? Yes ___ No ___ (b) Rent payments, interest or dividends? Yes ___ No ___ (c) Pensions, annuities or life insurance payments? Yes ___ No ___ (d) Gifts or inheritances? Yes ___ No ___ (e) Any other sources? Yes ___ No ___ If the answer to any of the above is yes, describe each source of money and state the amount received from each during the past twelve months. 3. Do you own any cash, or do you have money in a checking or savings account? Yes ___ No ___ If the answer is yes, state the total amount in each account. 4. Do you own any real estate, stocks, bonds, notes, automobiles or other valuable property (excluding ordinary household furnishings and clothing)? Yes ___ No ___ If the answer is yes, describe the property and state its approximate value. 5. List the persons who are dependent upon you for support, state your relationship to those persons, and indicate how much you contribute toward their support. 6. TO BE COMPLETED ONLY IF PETITIONER IS INCARCERATED IN THE ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION OR ANY OTHER PENAL INSTITUTION. Do you have any funds in the inmate welfare funds? Yes ___ No ___ If the answer is yes, state the total amount in such account and have the certificate found below completed by the authorized officer of the institution. I understand that false statement or answer to any questions in this affidavit will subject me to penalties for perjury. ___________________________________ Signature of Petitioner STATE OF _______________ COUNTY OF _____________ Petitioner, ______________, being first duly sworn under oath, presents that he/she has read and subscribed to the above and states that the information therein is true and correct. SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this _____ day of ______________, 19__. _____________________ Notary Public My commission expires: _______________ ............................................................ CERTIFICATE (To be completed by authorized officer of penal institution) I hereby certify that the petitioner herein, __________ ______, has the sum of $ _______ on account to his/her credit at the _______________ institution where he/she is confined. I further certify that petitioner likewise has the following securities to his/her credit according to the records of said institution: __________ ________________________________ Authorized Officer of Institution
(d) Content of motions for attorney's fees. All motions for attorney's fees from attorneys appointed to represent indigent appellants in criminal cases shall contain the following information: (1) the date of appointment; (2) the court which appointed counsel; (3) the number of hours expended by counsel in research, court appearances, and preparation of pleadings and briefs; (4) counsel's customary rate of compensation in similar cases; (5) the customary rate of compensation in similar cases of attorneys in the community; (6) expenses incurred by counsel which are directly attributable to the case; (7) the experience of counsel in the representation of criminal appellants; and (8) the relative complexity of the case. The motion shall be filed not later than 30 days after the issuance of the mandate.
Reporter's Notes, 2013 Amendment. The 2013 amendment added subsection (c) to clarify which court has jurisdiction to consider a request to proceed in forma pauperis.
Amended and effective by per curiam order Sep. 26, 2013.


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"The only pledge I'd sign is a pledge to sign no more pledges." That bit of wisdom came from Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, during his successful run for a U.S. Senate seat. Now a few of his more courageous colleagues are taking the same path and renouncing the politics of purity.
For more than 25 years, most Republican officeholders have bowed to the browbeating of one unelected, unappointed lobbyist named Grover Norquist, who demanded that they sign a pledge to never, ever raise taxes of any kind. That vow ranks as one of the worst ideas to infect Washington in the last generation, so the "no more pledges" movement is an especially heartening development.
A total ban on new taxes cripples the ability of the government to meet its mounting fiscal obligations. Every sane person in the capital knows that additional revenue must be part of any deal to diminish the deficit. So no new taxes means no deal. Ever. Period.
But Norquistism is even worse than that. It epitomizes the larger idea of politics as theology, as holy war. Orthodoxy is demanded and enforced. Heretics are burned at the stake (or at least challenged in primaries). Compromise, one of the noblest words in the political language, is denounced as caving in and selling out.
Principles are essential in politics. So are goals and demands and negotiating positions. But this is a vast country that encompasses a wide diversity of races and nationalities, religions and ideologies, geographical and economic interests. It cannot function without compromise. It cannot function if one group says it has the truth, its principles must prevail, and it will never negotiate.
Norquistism is essentially undemocratic, because democracy depends on a decent respect for differing opinions and viewpoints. Without that respect, Democrats and Republicans become Sunnis and Shiites, and Washington becomes Baghdad without the car bombs.
The great genius that separates us from Europe (to say nothing of the Middle East) is the essential pragmatism of the American spirit. We do what works. We live in a real world, not an ideological fantasyland.
That's why the last few days have been so encouraging. A growing number of Republicans have been willing to say: The Emperor Grover has no clothes and no power, as long as enough Republicans stand up and defy him.
Here's Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina: "I will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country ... the only pledge we should be making to each other is to avoid being Greece." Rep. Peter King of New York: "The world has changed, and the economic situation is different ... We should not be taking ironclad positions." And Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia: "I care more about the country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge. If we do it (Norquist's) way, then we'll continue in debt ... I'm willing to do the right thing and let the political consequences take care of themselves."
But this outbreak of realism has to work both ways and cross party lines. Graham is right to say that he'll support new taxes only "if Democrats will do entitlement reform." Yes, Obama won the election, and, no, the Democrats don't have anyone as doctrinal or domineering as Norquist. But liberal interest groups are massing to defend every dime of existing benefits, and the president and his allies have to be willing to take them on, to show the same level of pragmatism and flexibility they expect from the Republicans.
Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said it well: "The election didn't give either party a mandate. What voters gave both parties is a work order. They told us to work together to solve this problem fairly and wisely."
That kind of cooperation will be hard to accomplish. Along with their "work order," voters sent back a Congress more polarized than ever. Forty-one percent of those voters called themselves moderates, and yet the center is shrinking on Capitol Hill. Reasonable Republicans such as Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine (who retired) and Richard Lugar of Indiana (who lost a primary) will be gone come January. The Blue Dog Democrats, a group of House centrists that once numbered more than 40, will shrink to about 15 members.
"Congress seems to be going in the opposite direction of the country, just as the country is screaming for solutions to gridlock," Democratic strategist Phil Singer told The Associated Press.
Leaders have to lead. The grown-ups have to take back control. And the "no more pledges" movement has to gain traction -- in both parties.


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Whitney Houston -- Funeral Home Denies Leaking Casket Photo
Whitney Houston Funeral Home Denies Leaking Casket Photo
Whitney Houston Death
The funeral home where Whitney Houston's body was kept last week is denying that it played any role in leaking a photo of the pop legend inside her casket.
Carolyn Whigham, owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, NJ, tells the Daily News she is devastated that the photo is out there and says her staff had nothing to do with it.
She tells the paper, "We did not take that photo. We did not sell the photo. We would never do something like that."
Whigham says she has received numerous threats since the publication of the photo, but that Whitney's family has told her they do not blame the funeral home.
FYI -- eight days ago, someone shopped that pic to TMZ ... we passed.
Waiting for your permission to load the comments.


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Real Estate's Hot 100
L to R: Julie Vega-Dominguez, Kim Coburn, Ken Teixeira
Photo By Norma Lopez Molina
Whether you're trying to buy or sell real estate, getting the best deal—especially in these challenging times—means finding an agent who possesses savvy and know-how and gets results. On these pages are some Central Florida agents who have demonstrated those skills.
Orlando magazine's list of "Hot 100'' real estate professionals is in alphabetical order and compiled from several sources. We consider data on sales volume, value of sales, number of sales, number of listings and value of listings.
Samiyah Ali
Cleve Loveland


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God love the shirtless chef, because he is one fantastic weirdo. When he pulls that curved churro out of its greasy oil bath, are we supposed to laugh? Get hungry? Be turned on? Cry in a corner? Any reaction seems appropriate when faced with this awesome insanity. And the music? You might think it would only work for when you're trying to seduce Roger Rabbit, but somehow it's perfect.
Finally, is anyone else worried about the burns? Because I'm very worried.
Still: mmmm, churros.


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AUDIOCS(4) NetBSD Kernel Interfaces Manual AUDIOCS(4) NAME audiocs -- Crystal Semiconductor CS4231 audio device driver SYNOPSIS audiocs0 at sbus0 slot ? offset ? audiocs0 at ebus? audio* at audiobus? DESCRIPTION The audiocs driver provides support for the CS4231 audio devices on the EBus and SBus buses in sparc and sparc64 machines. SEE ALSO audio(4), ebus(4), sbus(4) BUGS Mixer ``outputs'' class (AudioCoutputs) is not yet supported. NetBSD 8.1 June 22, 2005 NetBSD 8.1
You can also request any man page by name and (optionally) by section:


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Cake Wrecks, a Role Model?!?
I love reading all the e-mails y'all send in, and over the past months I've had several proud parents send in the cakey creations of their little ones, who they tell me are inspired by this blog. (Let's hope they're referring to the Sunday posts, heheh.)
Anyhoo, I thought today would be a good day to give a shout-out to two of my young fans-turned-prodigies.
First up, there's six-year-old Max. According to his mom Alissa, Max demands to see Cake Wrecks every night before going to bed, and when he finally made a cake all by himself, he begged her to send it in to Cake Wrecks as "a good-looking cake, not a wreck."
Here he is, looking proud-as-punch with his cakey creation:
Excellent work, young Max. I particularly like your sprinkle placement. Tell me, do you deliver?
And next, here's Kelsey holding a lovely two-tiered cake she made for her older sister's baby shower:
Kelsey's mom Renee tells me Kelsey made this entire thing from scratch, including the fondant, and designed and baked it completely on her own. Not too shabby for a girl who's only - wait, what's this? Today is her 15th birthday?!? Aw, hey now, how's that for good timing? It's almost like someone [wink wink] wanted to feature her cake on her special day. Yep, yep, yep. So good work, mom, and happy birthday, Kelsey! May your cakes always rise, your fondant never crack, and your spelling skills never falter.


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We've been talking about social media for what seems like ages now. However, unless you've seen it grow from the ground up, it's not an immediately clear concept – you and your clients may not be on the same wavelength.
One concept that can still confuse the heck out of clients is social media link building. So let's dig into why social media matters, which networks/platforms have value and which don't, and methods of using social for your own link efforts.
Why Does Social Media Matter?
One huge reason that social media matters right now is, simply, because everyone likes it. Even if you detest some (or all) of the platforms, using the big ones is almost mandatory at this point.
Nearly everyone is on Facebook. Lots of people are on Twitter. A good number of people are on LinkedIn. Some people are on Pinterest. And SEOs are on Google+.
Social media is all about relationship building, and the more recent lines of thinking about link building involve (guess what?) relationships. Just as you have to earn the trust of a friend, you have to earn good links these days.
With trust being such a good thing, using trusted sites is a critical way that you can show your community that you are legitimate. Many things are easy to automate and fake, but doing social media well? That's difficult.
Sites like Twitter and Facebook are seriously trusted sites, and a profile link there is obviously going to be a good link, but the interaction there is also a good source of trust for a brand. Tons of spammy template sites are built in order to capture rankings and traffic and send it elsewhere, for example, but the chances of those types of sites having a Facebook page with 1,000 fans who actually comment and interact is pretty slim.
Social matters because everyone uses it, basically, and because it's a seriously efficient way of promoting your site, your brand, and your personal voice. We used to comment on blog posts and in forums mainly, but now we have all these other ways of expressing our opinions, bonding with others, and promoting ourselves.
How to Build Links Socially
Promoting a site through social media can also help to build links. A key point to remember here is that there are many ways to build links.
Social media links are difficult to measure much of the time. Many links generated through social are indirect ones, being placed down the road.
Sometimes you don't actually generate links. Sometimes you generate straight conversions, which is fantastic.
Sometimes all the social activity helps you rise in the SERPs, hopefully leading to more links/clicks/conversions. The links that you insert into your profiles can certainly help you, and you can build links to those profiles to boost their visibility. Sounds almost like magic doesn't it?
The Benefits of Social Links
The main benefit, as mentioned earlier, comes from the visibility that social promotion gives your brand. Social signals are a factor in Google's algorithm and can cause your results to appear higher in searches at times.
Having great social sites encourages people to interact with your brand and have it on their minds, thus (hopefully) encouraging more conversions and links.
Popular social networks also give you a good link to your main site from your profile, which carries the very real benefit of any great link. If it's a followed link, it will help you rank higher, which is a good direct SEO value.
Not all profile links are followed, and those that aren't are still good for traffic, but if you can grab the followed ones? That's fantastic for SEO purposes.
Pinterest and Google+ profile links are followed for now. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profile links are nofollowed.
Don't ignore a site that's big just because you can't get a followed profile link though, as the benefits are still there.
The Major Social Networks
Facebook has been around since early 2004 and has more than 1 billion active users.
We constantly fuss about privacy issues and being served ads on Facebook yet we're still using it to show off our kids' latest photos, tell everyone about our amazing vacation, inspire jealousy about how awesome our lives are, spout off about politics and religion, and annoy everyone with our game requests and group invitations.
Facebook has a lot of problems and a lot of intricate settings that you need to pay attention to, but it has some fantastic benefits too, most importantly (for marketing purposes) the Facebook Page. A brand can post photos, videos, status updates, information about upcoming events/sales, contests, etc. You can communicate with a brand and its users on a Page, and some brands give you special information if you "Like" them.
Just to give you an example of the potential of a big brand engaging its users, check the Starbucks stats below:
What about a small brand? My daughter takes ballet classes at a local dance school that has 469 likes. That's a far cry from Starbucks but for them, it's a nice amount. They can promote upcoming dance shows, post photos in hopes of getting more parents to sign their kids up, offer special rates for signing up before a certain date, give parents information about rehearsals and extra practices, etc.
In their case, maybe they don't generate actual links to either their Facebook page or their website, but they can generate signups. If the goal of a link is to increase brand visibility and generate more converting traffic, then anything else that functions in that same way can easily be regarded as just as important as a link.
Last example: My agency runs a local news site and we've relied heavily on Facebook to promote its articles. In fact, in all of 2012, our number one referral was Facebook, sending us 8,321 visitors who averaged over 3 pages per visit and over 3 minutes per visit. For a small local site run totally through volunteers those numbers aren't bad at all. That's great visibility for us and it's translated into advertising requests, guest post inquiries, and new non-agency volunteer staff.
And personally on your own account, you can always promote whatever you like. I sometimes post my articles there but don't always because I use the account for more personal than business reasons.
Some people have their Twitter and Facebook connected so whatever they post on one gets posted on the other. Although I'm not a fan of that usually, it certainly does provide efficiency.
Twitter has been around since 2006 and currently has about 500 million users, half that of Facebook.
If I had to pick a favorite network, it would be Twitter. The 140 character limit fits my attention span and lets me scan loads more information than I could get if I had to read 15 articles.
The ease of interaction on Twitter makes it a very accessible network. You don't have to do any more than "tweet" something. There's no pressure for video or photos, and there are a host of applications that you can use to make Twitter work better for you. I use web Twitter because I am a Luddite but for the serious social media power user, you'd probably be better off exploring a proper Twitter application.
Where people fail the most on Twitter is in tweeting links only, or tweeting only their own posts. No one wants to deal with a one-sided tweeter.
Some of the best promotional efforts on Twitter will come about through influential people who follow you or see your tweets, and if you've never interacted with them or anyone else, they may be less likely to help you out.
Some people believe that you should respond to everyone who tweets to you, no matter what, and there are those who disagree. I tend to side with the "respond to everyone" group but I don't think you need to thank every single one of the 500 people who retweets your article or says "nice writeup" because that can get silly.
Brands being addressed should always respond, though, big or small. If someone is complaining on Twitter, that's worth an extremely quick response.
Just like other networks, Twitter can help you build links by getting your content in front of people who may link to it. While Facebook sent my news site the most referrals, Twitter tends to be the biggest social referrer for both my agency site and most of the sites for which I have Google Analytics access. With that being the case, I don't think most people can afford to ignore the power of Twitter for getting people to your site, hopefully leading to links and conversions.
LinkedIn was launched in 2003 and is considered to be a social network for people who have a professional job or are looking for one. It currently has 200 million users, around a third of what Twitter shows. You can have a personal and/or a business page so it's definitely a good profile to have, and if you're job-hunting, in some industries it may be critical.
However, just because it's considered to be a professional networking site doesn't mean that it's not full of spam. Chances are that if you have more than a few connections, you'll be besieged by connection requests from people that you have never met.
That being said, for professional purposes like networking and keeping up with industry news, it's quite nice. You can see content pushed by people in your network and it tends to be more industry-relevant than what's promoted on Facebook certainly, and Twitter occasionally.
People don't tend to use LinkedIn to argue about the latest election or show photos of their latest latte. If you have a relevant professional piece of content to share, this is a great place to do it that should get you some nice visibility.
Interesting note: LinkedIn sends my site zero traffic. However, my profile gets plenty of visibility and I don't promote articles here, but considering I'm advising you to do so, I should probably start, right?
Google+ came out in 2011 and, like most Google offerings, was (and still is) disliked and ignored by a lot of anti-Google types. This network uses circles that you can create and share content with, and you can create lots of different circles to share certain types of content so if you want something that can be promoted in a tailor-made way, this is a great option.
Google+ is also tied to Google Authorship which is becoming a more important factor in search results for Google. If you aren't signed up and you write any content anywhere, you should get on the ball and get yourself an account here.
From what I can tell, most of the people in my contact list who use G+ are other SEOs. Obviously any success will depend on the demographic of the network because if you're writing about organic gardening and no one in your circles gives a flip about organic gardening, your content probably won't get shared as much and it won't draw conversions.
Basically, though, Google+ works like the others: you promote content and others can share it, like it (by +1'ing it), or comment on it. It may not be as important as the other networks just yet, but it seems to be getting there.
Pinterest is personally the network that I like the least although I'm not a big fan of images or video anyway, as I'd rather read words. It's huge with many people though.
Launched in beta in 2010, it became seriously popular in 2011 and suddenly everyone was on Pinterest, whether they actively used it or not. The last number of users I can find referenced is 40 million.
From my perspective, lots of people in my Facebook friends group who were not present on Twitter or Google+ were on Pinterest when I joined. For certain industries it's probably the best way to market, but for others, not so great.
Like other networks, Pinterest is plagued by spam and fake accounts, but after the links from pins were nofollowed things calmed down a bit. Pinterest does not send any decent traffic to any of the sites that I have Google Anaytics access to unfortunately, even though a few of those sites do have accounts.
"Why Your SEO & Social Strategy Should Include Pinterest" points out the awesome benefit of any good network: "Does Google like fresh content from social sharing? Yes." The author goes on to list examples of brands doing well on Pinterest so if you're interested in how to do it right, definitely check those out.
Other Social Networks To Pursue
Foursquare is useful for many businesses, especially if they can attract customers through discount codes or anything else related to checkins. Bruegger's Bagels has used Foursquare to give customers a free bagel on every 5th checkin. That's pretty awesome stuff to inspire loyalty.
Foursquare can be an awesome asset for local search as well. Recently people have started predicted that this network will be dead by the year's end, but I thought that it would be years ago and it's kept going strong.
Instagram is insanely popular with many people (not me…yet) and again, depending upon your niche, it can be a great marketing tool. Considering the new apps that are being developed to help you analyze your results there, it's probably not going away anytime soon. As with Pinterest, visuals are amazing marketing tools for certain niches.
StumbleUpon can be fantastic for sending traffic, and if your site happens to resonate with the stumblers who find it, you definitely have a good chance of conversions and links, just like you do with anything else.
MySpace seems to still hold value for certain niches, like new music for example. In my opinion though, I wouldn't create a MySpace profile for a professional business unless your target market is teenagers who talk a lot.
A few other good social sites:
- Flickr
- Tumblr
- YouTube
- Bizsugar
There are many other ones of course, and just because they aren't major (yet) and may never be giant sources of referrals doesn't mean that you should ignore or discount them.
One great way to get profiles on all the big networks (and to see a good list of all the sites) is to use KnowEm, which is a service that can grab all your usernames and/or (depending upon the price) fill out profile bios for you. If you're thinking of social profiles in terms of getting links to your site, this is a great option.
Networks To Avoid
In terms of which social networks to avoid, a lot of that depends upon your industry and your target market. I wouldn't put a massive effort into a social site that wasn't popular in general, but I also wouldn't put a huge effort into a popular site where my customers can't be found.
As I mentioned above, MySpace really doesn't have the professional credibility to be used for a lot of brands and small businesses. I don't necessarily think that it's harmful, but considering some of the MySpace profiles that rank, you'd probably be much better off having another social site show up in the SERPs, rather than MySpace (unless it really, really fits your target audience).
A couple others that might be best avoided if you're using them for professional purposes are Bebo and Friendster.
Some Good Social Examples
As mentioned above, Bruegger's Bagels has given out a free bagel on every 5th Foursquare checkin. (Note: I'm not sure they do this currently, or constantly.) I was just thinking "well how does that get them a link?" but as you can see, they just got a link from me because of it. The promise of getting something free for your loyalty inspires many of us.
Marmite is something you either love or hate, and I happen to love it. Their Facebook page has almost a million likes.
As I'm looking at the page, there are close to 13,000 people talking about the brand. They can ask "what's for breakfast this morning?" and get 300 comments in an hour. People obviously like to interact with this brand here.
Interestingly, Marmite's Facebook page only has 54 referring domains in its link profile. Their page encourages engagement but you can't see the benefits just by looking at the links it generates.
The links don't look overly fantastic either, but they help rank the site of course, and they probably send traffic to it. You just can't measure the value of this page in terms of the links it generates, but I do wonder how many extra jars of Marmite were consumed because of this page.
How Can You Use Social?
Obviously social media isn't going to be right for everyone. There are considerations like embarrassment factor (most people aren't going to be excited to seriously and publicly discuss their erectile issues on Twitter, for example).
However, many brands that sell the types of products that you'd try and hide beneath the paper towels in your grocery basket are actually using social very well, and with a healthy dose of humor. They may offer coupons to anyone who likes them on Facebook or they may promote special deals to their fans, but the legitimate involvement of a community like that does still seem to be somewhat limited.
Some target audiences just aren't currently participating in great numbers on social sites, either. If you sell vitamins for women over 75, a MySpace page isn't the smartest idea. A Facebook page may be, but it still may not work for you.
Not every product or service needs a social media presence, and it's important to remember that just because you read tips about how to do social well, it doesn't mean that you're required to set up and maintain presences on the big sites or you'll soon be out of business, as that simply isn't true.
I think the best way for anyone to use social media is to realize that it's not just a matter of throwing content all over the place and expecting people to eat it up. You need to see what other people in your niche or local area are doing with it and really dig in to good examples when you find them. Obviously you shouldn't copy what someone else is doing, but you can use these examples to help you see what works and what doesn't.
Whereas one site will work for one company, it may not for another, so don't assume that you immediately need to invest hours a day in Facebook just because Pepsi uses it. You do need to invest time and energy to see results though.
I mostly use Twitter to promote content and it works well for me, but I don't invest the same energy into building up a community on Facebook or Google+, for example, and that shows. When I do promote anything there, the rewards are much, much less than they are when I do it on Twitter.
Like many things, social media is trial and error to some extent. What many people forget (or ignore) is that social media isn't one-sided, and these sites don't exist solely for you to throw out links to your site.
Social media can help you build links but those links tend to be difficult to measure. One of your Twitter followers may read your content in January and remember it in March when she's writing a related article, and you'll get a link without being able to immediately trace it back to its source.
I've gotten some amazing links from people that I've interacted with on Twitter and who later asked me to be a part of a crowdsourced post or be interviewed. I know those links came from the interaction, and that's enough for me to realize how valuable social media link building can be.
Related reading
Top advanced YouTube SEO tips to boost your video performance
YouTube is not just a social media platform. It's a powerful search engine for video content. Here's how to make the most of its SEO potential.
Social media: How does it affect SEO?
It's not the actual social activity that matters, but what happens as a result of that activity. Three ways to harness the power of social media for SEO.


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September 6, 2012
The NC Science and Engineering Fair (NCSEF) is proud to announce that four North Carolina middle school students have been selected as semifinalists, and one as a finalist, in this year's Broadcom MASTERS competition, the premier science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competition in the United States for middle school students.
Judy Day, Director of the NCSEF commented, "We are extremely proud of our students being recognized by the Broadcom MASTERS as among the best student research projects in the nation. NCSEF's motto, Inspiring Innovation in Student Research, is based on our belief that our North Carolina students, regardless of their geographical location, can be among the most innovative and inspired students in the nation and across the globe. These students are evidence of our state's potential to excel."
The semifinalists come from across the state including: Wilmington, Elon, Winston-Salem, and Chapel Hill.
Christopher Karras, from Wilmington Christian Academy, was selected as a semifinalist for his project entitled, "Could Our Addiction to Fossil Fuels Be Killing Our Coral Reefs?" Semifinalist Megan Miller, from Western Alamance Middle School in Elon, did her research on aerodynamics: "Don't Be a Drag; Improving the Aerodynamics of Tractor-Trailer Trucks."
Semifinalist Sofia Pauca of Winston-Salem's Hanes Magnet School studied autistic flies. Her project was entitled, "Autism Flies Year 2: Testing a Medication for Autism – Effects of MPEP on Repetitive Grooming Behaviors of 2 Copy and Stubby 1 Copy Dfmr1 Mutants in Drosophila Melanogaster."
Finalist Chase Lewis, who is homeschooled in Chapel Hill, won with a chemistry project entitled "Nitrocellulose: Speedy as a Flash." Lewis will travel to Washington, D.C. at the end of September for five days of competition against the remaining 29 Broadcom MASTERS finalists from across the US. The winner will be awarded $25,000.
"The 2012 Broadcom MASTERS finalists represent the nation's finest young innovators," said Paula Golden, Executive Director of the Broadcom Foundation. "We need ideas from these students, and the thousands of others who participated in the Broadcom MASTERS this year to help solve the grand challenges of this century."
The road to being a finalist is long. The first step is winning 1st or 2nd place in the North Carolina Science and Engineering Fair, which is held at Meredith College in March every year. The winning students are nominated to participate in the Broadcom MASTERS competition, which requires completing a 3,000-word application.
The 30 Broadcom MASTERS finalists are selected by a panel of distinguished scientists and engineers from among 300 semifinalists, who are chosen from 1,500 applicants located throughout the United States.
Lewis is excited about the opportunity to compete for the top $25,000 prize, but would be happy with any of the other prizes, including $10,000 cash, $5,000 cash, and experiential learning opportunities like a week at a STEM summer camp. "It would be great if I won a prize," Lewis says, "but I'm most excited about the opportunity to go to Washington and compete."
If Lewis is not selected as a Broadcom MASTERS winner, he will have another chance in October at the finals of the 3M/Discovery "Young Scientist Challenge," which also has a top prize of $25,000. Lewis is one of the top 10 national finalists in the 3M/Discovery competition.


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Our Publications
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Team Shadow Buddies Event
On Saturday, October 5th, Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcon's tight end, along with his wife October, presented "Team Shadow Buddies - Scoring a Victory for Children." This event, hosted by Tammy Wingate and Buckhead Prep, contributed to the mission of the Tony Gonzalez Foundation and Shadow Buddies Foundation.
The Tony Gonzalez Foundation has made the Shadow Buddies Foundation its charity of choice. Over 47,500 Tony Gonzalez Buddies have been distributed throughout the United States. He also sponsors a senior Shadow Buddies program helping thousands of senior residence in nursing homes and is very involved in the "Know Your Buddy Book™" program promoting compassion and understanding through education for K-6th grade.
Photos by Joey Wallace.


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Rutgers Basketball and the Evolution of 'Tough Love'
Calls continued to mount Thursday for the athletic director and even the president of Rutgers University in New Jersey to be fired for not taking tough measures sooner against men's basketball coach Mike Rice, who was fired Wednesday for his violent treatment of players after ESPN brought video footage to light.
Many see the initial discipline Mr. Rice received as a slap on the wrist and suggest it points to a double standard in the treatment of big-time coaches compared with other educators. But the incident is also prompting dialogue about broader societal issues – including the tolerance of antigay and gender-based slurs in sports, and whether the desire to build "toughness" in athletes too often turns into a destructive stream of negative feedback.
The reaction to the video at Rutgers and nationwide, some say, shows signs of shifting social views on what is good, hard-nosed coaching designed to push players to improve and behavior that is simply petulant bullying.
Years ago, Rice's behavior might have been shrugged off by many as "tough love," but this time, "there was a certain sense of outrage" expressed by everyone from sports commentators to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, says Dan Lebowitz, executive director of Northeastern University's Sport in Society, which advocates for social responsibility in sports.
While Rice's behavior may have been extreme, the content of his tirades against players points to aspects of school athletics that should be challenged and reformed, Mr. Lebowitz says.
Not only did he use antigay slurs, but he also used demeaning epithets suggesting that his players were acting like women. "It raises the question of the construct of manhood in athletics and elsewhere," Lebowitz says. "There's a code of toughness in men's athletics," with players perhaps not coming forward about Rice because of a fear of being thought of as wimpy or unmanly.
For the same reason, pro athletes rarely come out as gay before retiring, Lebowitz says.
Many students who are gay or don't conform to gender stereotypes don't find welcoming environments in physical education classes or sports teams, long before they start college. More than half of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students ages 13 to 20 were bullied or harassed in PE class, and more than a quarter of LGBT student athletes were harassed or assaulted while participating with a team, according to a 2011 national survey of more than 8,000 students by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
While coaches often pride themselves on being mentors to students, 75 percent of LGBT students said they were uncomfortable talking to their PE teachers or coaches about LGBT issues.
The Rice incident "speaks to the work we need to do [in K-12] to make sure our coaches and physical education teachers are not emulating that kind of behavior, and are creating more respectful environments," says Robert McGarry, GLSEN's director of education.
GLSEN offers the Team Respect Challenge, giving tools to teams that pledge to create a respectful and inclusive environment. At Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md., for example, every team has taken the challenge, thanks largely to coach and social studies teacher Chris Murray, Mr. McGarry says.
Negativity in coaching is a long-standing cycle that needs to be interrupted, says Jim Thompson, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Positive Coaching Alliance.
"Most people coach the way they were coached, or the way they see big-time coaches on TV coach…. There's a thought that you have to be negative or hard on players."
His organization emphasizes that coaches can be intense without being negative – and that they'll get better results by filling their players' "emotional tanks" with positive reinforcement, so that they'll be ready to learn from legitimate criticism.
Getting players out of their comfort zone is important to help them grow, Mr. Thompson says, but from sports psychology research it's clear that "great coaches do it not by intimidation and contempt" such as Rice exhibited, but by "letting them know they believe in them, encouraging them, pushing them in an appropriate way."
With 10 chapters around the country, the group gives about 1,500 workshops a year to coaches, parents, students, and youth sports leaders, and demand is growing, Thompson says.
He also sees a growing recognition of for college coaches who bring home wins through positive coaching. Coaches such as Brad Stevens at Butler and Shaka Smart at Virginia Commonwealth University are "in big demand," he says, because they build up and get the most out of their players rather than just relying on superstars.
The culture may be shifting, but it still "allows and excuses situations that put athletics before basic human dignity," and players should have more protections to prevent future situations like the one at Rutgers, says Ramogi Huma, founder and president of the National College Players Association, which advocates for reforms in college athletics.
Most of the players under Rice at Rutgers were "willing to sustain physical abuse rather than risk their scholarship" to defend themselves or speak up about it, he says.
Those who did transfer away from Rice's team were subject to an NCAA rule that takes away a year of eligibility, and that should be retroactively corrected Mr. Huma says. Players should be allowed to transfer once without penalty, he advocates. The NCAA should also make it mandatory for university athletics staff to report suspected abuse of players, he says, and should set up a way for players to report anonymously.
His group is among those calling for Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti and President Robert Barchi to be fired. "It seemed as though they hoped [the videos] would never be made public. They put that in front of the well being of their players," he says.
More than 50 faculty members have called for Mr. Pernetti's dismissal, and at least 28 have called for Mr. Barchi to resign, citing not only the handling of Rice's behavior but also a "continued pattern of insensitivity and arrogance toward issues of diversity," the Associated Press reports.
The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act, authored by congressmen from New Jersey, would require colleges receiving federal student aid to create policies that prohibit harassment of students by fellow students, faculty, or staff. Unlike many state laws, it would explicitly ban harassment based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.
Tyler Clementi killed himself while a student at Rutgers after his roommate watched him via webcam in an encounter with another man and tweeted about it – an incident that helped accelerate a strong antibullying law in New Jersey.
Stacy Teicher Khadaroo is a staff writer and national news reporter for the Christian Science Monitor. She focuses on education -- at all stages of life.


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Boston on one wheel…
So I'm a huge motorcycle guy….I sold my R1 a few years back but I have been eyeballing a new set of wheels ever since. I was never much of a wheelie or trick guy…. I didn't like the idea of smashing up my bike to learn all the finer points. I was always a speed / cornering guy….and my risk was always very calculated. If it wasn't safe…I wouldn't do it. One of the things on my bucket list is to drive the Isle of Man on a 200 MPH bike….it's going to cost me some dough….but I will make it happen some day.
Aside from making your toes curl, you have to appreciate the trick riders. Check out these guys bombing around Boston last summer. There was a few occasions where I thought one of them would eat pavement….
Here's my old beast sitting in front of Walsh Park….


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It was mentioned in 53 per cent of online conversations about the UK's 12 largest charities over the weekend, according to research by social media listening platform Synthesio.
The next most mentioned charities across social media, forums and the comment sections of newspapers were the NSPCC on 13 per cent and the RNLI on 12 per cent.
According to Synthesio, Macmillan's success was due to the vocal support of the charity's 1,000 runners – including celebrities such as The Voice singer Matt Henry – and the heavy use of #teammacmillan, which was promoted via the charity's Twitter accounts.
"Macmillan managed to grab a lot of attention on social media due to the high level of engagement from its runners and their supporters. There was no single 'buzz-generating' moment, rather Macmillan's success was down to a concerted social media push," said Catriona Oldershaw, MD of Synthesio UK.
Macmillan said that was only part of the story. The charity made the marathon a major fundraising event this year and 975 Team Macmillan runners took part, so nearly one in every 40 runners was wearing Macmillan green.
But it also has a long-standing digital policy to get all its 1,300 staff and many more supporters to engage with social media.
"This was an example of Team Macmillan come to life," said digital engagement manager Eva Lake. "It starts with the organisational culture and that then spreads further afield through social media and drip feeds down to our supporters. You can see tweets from our CEO, some directors, lots of staff; social media is not just our social media team.
"We introduced the #tweetyourfeet social media ask by recruiting Macmillan celebrity supporter Gareth Thomas to encourage the public to #tweetyourfeet during an appearance on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff on Friday morning,"
The charity also sent out an all-staff email and used its internal social media newsletter to introduce hashtags and topics for discussion. On the day, while Macmillan's social media team were at the race, a volunteer monitored Macmillan's feeds and engaged with the public.
Macmillan dominates London Marathon charity mentions
Macmillan Cancer Support has credited its staff for the achievement of being the most talked about charity online around Sunday's London Marathon.
It was mentioned in 53 per cent of online conversations about the UK's 12 largest charities over the weekend, according to research by social media listening platform Synthesio.