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Kevin Durant gives himself a nickname, announces Russell Westbrook's return in interview
In a interview with ESPN's Bill Simmons during the All-Star break, Kevin Durant gave himself the nickname "The Servant," and said that Russell Westbrook will be back for Thursday's game against the Heat.
Durant's reasoning for calling himself "The Servant?" - He's serving everyone. Even the people working in the crowd.
"I like to serve everybody. My teammates. Ushers at the game. The fans," Durant says.
Durant then goes on to shoot down "The Slim Reaper" again. He also likes "KD" and compares it to the simplicity of "AI" - the initials of former All-Star point guard Allen Iverson.
"I know it's kinda weird to make your own nickname, but I like that one better," Durant said about "The Servant."
And about 30 seconds in to the interview, Simmons asks the question everyone wants to know - When's Westbrook coming back?
Thunder writer Darnell Mayberry said on Twitter that "Thunder officials continue to say Russell Westbrook will be back 'sometime after the All-Star break.' No new timelines. No kinds of updates."
Over the All-Star break, there's been no official confirmation of Westbrook's return date - only reports from various sources.
(h/t Daily Thunder for the video)


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DD goes to daycare three days a week. They have little envelopes for everyone if you want to leave a note or invite them to a bday etc. So, I was planning on inviting the kids in her class. She has two teachers and they probably wouldn't even come, but should I invite them? The other thing is that LO's class is often combined with one or two other classes depending on how many kids come that day, so we know those two teachers well too, and they have some other little friends in there. Where do I draw the line? We have space for a lot of people because we have a room at the club we belong to, but more people= more food cost and less intimacy.
Just as another curiousity, how many are you inviting/expecting to come to LO's bday?

subset: commoncrawl


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New Bern Police are investigating a shooting late Thursday night.
Police say it happened around 11:30 p.m. on Washington Post Road.
At this point police say it appears the wound was self-inflicted. The man was transported to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
Police are not releasing his identity at this time.


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"Derby Day - Kentucky Derby - May 2, 2009" Louisville by BeatChick
Louisville Travel Guide: 410 reviews and 622 photos
I drove down this past May to visit with my cousin, Mischa, so we could PARTAY at Derby Day at Churchill Downs. We had access to the Derby Day Infield Club which includes the all-important access to the track - wooties!
If you check out my videos I have a one of my cuz and of this dude named Johnny from Little Rock, AK. LOL - I thought I was taking a PHOTO of them but it turned out to be video instead. OMG, we were so smashed! Had tons of fun, though, and won a bit o' dough! It's always lovely to head out of town with more money than you brought in. As I rarely gamble, my winnings must be attributed to newbie luck. ;)
. . . was many, many moons ago when Mr. Connolly and I were first courting (must've been 1991 or so). His sister, Cindy, lived there and we showed up for a visit.
I recall Mr. Connolly regaling me with stories of the famous (infamous?) Burgoo at the bar, Rudyard Kipling. According to him, it was a mishmash of meat and vegetables, very spicy, and rumored to have squirrel meat in it (and that's Kentucky for you - why not, By God?!?).
I tried it and fell in love with it (much like I fell for Mr. Connolly, Irish rogue that he is): potatoes, carrots, onions, tender meat in a tomato-based super spicy broth (is that Tabasco I detect?). Delish!
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This is a Bible Teaching Tool for the disciples of Jesus Christ, and for the "making of disciples of Christ," and for the witnesses of the Holy Spirit, investigated, researched, studied and rightly divided by Ambassador for Christ Kenneth Jerome Williams (Under the Anointing of God), B.A. Christian Ed./Student of Divinity through the teaching, guiding and leading of the Holy Spirit (True credentials are the "Anointing"). Revelational Knowledge comes from Jesus Christ and not from a man, nor from a woman.
-Ambassador Kenneth J. Williams
Minister of God and Christ Jesus Foundation Public Benefit/Public Charity Corporation P.O. Box 2617 Gardena, CA 90247
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Spirit of Trust Published October 02, 2014
Like A Thief in the Night. Published September 24, 2014
Eternal Life. Published September 21, 2014


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I just got my wii a few days ago and I am addicted to that game. What makes it even better is that my wife also enjoys it. We have had some pretty good matches so far.
I just got my wii a few days ago and I am addicted to that game. What makes it even better is that my wife also enjoys it. We have had some pretty good matches so far.
I may be fat but I'm slow enough to make up for it.
Yes. Wii a lot of stuff. But, I'm stuck on Guitar Hero III right now. Going through medium - Slayer's kicking my arse.
1 bronze, 0 silver, 1 gold
I may be fat but I'm slow enough to make up for it.
I can't access youtube where I am now, but earlier I saw an amazing video of some kids playing Wii tennis while riding no-hands on roller bike trainers. Now that is skillz.
even better when youre drunk
Right now I am trying to decide if I am going to order Mario Kart or Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games. I have a $50 gift certificate to Amazon that I need to use. My main thing is that I want something that both me and my wife will enjoy, that is the reason I bought the Wii. She really seems to enjoy it so far. The games need to remain simple but fun though. She hates the PS3 except when we watch blu-rays.
I may be fat but I'm slow enough to make up for it.
Looks like I'm going to be ordering the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games. I can't find Mario Kart anywhere, seems to be pretty popular.
I may be fat but I'm slow enough to make up for it.
After routinely getting trounced by my 2 7yr old daughters I discovered my mark and bowled a 279 with 9 strikes in a row. Watching my girls play tennis is fun because they are jumping and diving all over the play room and the competition is fierce.
I don't think I did Wii Bowling quite that much at first...it took me longer. I think my high score is like 240, but I still, on average, rarely break 200. Partly because I'm not playing every day like I was and getting out of practice.
I love tennis and baseball. Baseball is fun, but you have to play a bit to get some skill level going. At first when you skill level is so low your players will often miss easy balls because of that skill level. As you play and beat the computer you increase your skill level. I got baseball to pro level, but found it to be VERY HARD and immediately started losing until I was below pro level again. I find baseball more fun to play with my girlfrien.....er, wife.
A "must" game, I've found is "Active Life Outdoor Challenge". We got it for the exercise aspects, but its very fun too. It's got about 15-20 mini games and they are all very fun.
I even have one game that yuo can stay sat on the couch for, I bought the williams pinball love it.
I have wii fit and for at xmas was given the Shaun White snowboarding road trip, not played it yet, been too busy playing top spin 3.
Mario Kart is a great racing game lots off fun, I also have tiger woods golf, carnival mini golf is a little strange to say the least.
I am not a gamer so I don't play all the gamer games for wii, I have rented a couple but could not get into them.
I just went to lunch and while I was out I stopped by Game Stop. They had Mario Kart so I picked it up while I was there. I still have the $50 gift certificate to Amazon so I will probably order the olympics today unless I find something I think we will enjoy more.
I probably should find a game I can stay on the couch and play though. I'm getting knee surgery on 2/13 so I don't think I will be able to play the stand up games for a few days / weeks.
I may be fat but I'm slow enough to make up for it.
It looks stupid but the Rabbid Rabbits series is pretty dang fun. Has a ton of pointless games but they are all pretty fun and often times very funny.
Reviews: http://www.gamespot.com/wii/puzzle/w...result;title;0
I played Mario Kart last night against a buddy of mine that I work with online. That was a blast! I ended up going to bed later than I planned but it was definitely worth it!
This thing makes me feel like a kid again. My wife keeps laughing at me and taking pictures when I get pissed off. My dog doesn't know what to think.
I may be fat but I'm slow enough to make up for it.


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THE OKLAHOMAN You're viewing an article from The Oklahoman's newsroom. Print subscribers have Full Access to a premium experience at Oklahoman.com.
OSU football notebook: Mike Gundy tired of answering questions about offense
One of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's most quotable lines following Saturday's close win against Kansas State was in response to the question of why the offense has struggled so much the past two weeks.
"I don't have a clue," Gundy said. "I wish I could give you a good answer so it would sound good on the news tonight."
After watching film Sunday, did he have more of a clue? And how does the coaching staff plan to make corrections and adjustments during the bye week?
"I'm not sure I'm real comfortable in continuing to answer those same questions all the time," Gundy said. "We have guys that are working to get better.
"Can we average 500 yards on offense and 45 points a game every year for the rest of my coaching career here? I don't know. I think it would be considerably difficult. But either way, I really don't know how to answer that question anymore."
Gundy brought up the importance of having a star quarterback, alluding to the fact that the Cowboys don't have Brandon Weeden slinging the football anymore. Then he used K-State and West Virginia as examples of offenses that have regressed in their first season without Collin Klein and Geno Smith, respectively.
But what about last season, when OSU didn't have Weeden (or Biletnikoff winner Justin Blackmon), but started three inexperienced quarterbacks because of multiple injuries to the position and still hummed along as one of the nation's most potent offenses?
"We had different players, too," Gundy said. "I just don't know ... To be honest with you. I'll keep answering it. It's kind of getting old.
"At some point I just have to say that we may not be at the same talent level that we were over the last number of years here and we've got the same plays, same scheme, everything."
Following a dynamite performance that included eight tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception, Oklahoma State linebacker Shaun Lewis got a big hug from defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer.
"He just melted in my arms," Spencer said.
Lewis was elated, yet exhausted, after a game where the Cowboys forced five turnovers to lift an offense that continues to sputter.
"It was like, 'We did it, Coach,'" Spencer said of Lewis' emotions. "And I said 'Shaun, we're gonna have to do that a lot more this year.' And he says, 'That's OK. I'm ready. I'll do it.'"


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Chancellorsville, Virginia, to Gettysburg,
February 20–July 9, 1863
It must be very humiliating to the yankees to be whipped so often
by our army . . .
—William Cowan McClellan
Athens and Limestone County, Alabama, were occupied again by Union forces in 1863, and in this year the Confederacy reached its zenith before the defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in July. Very few of the original recruits from 1861 hadn't "seen the elephant" by now. In January 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia (including the Valley District of the Shenandoah Valley) numbered 144,614 men and still faced the Army of the Potomac now commanded by Gen. Joseph Hooker.1 After the successful campaign at Fredericksburg, the Army of Northern Virginia was probably at its peak in terms of manpower, leadership, and effectiveness.
Lee still kept an eye on Hooker, who was threatening to turn Lee's left flank near Chancellorsville, while he also maintained some pressure in the direction of Fredericksburg. The Army of Northern Virginia was spread out in a line between Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and the Union commander opened the battle by trying to execute a turning movement on the Confederate left. The 134,000-man Union army held a two to one ratio over Lee's army as Hooker crossed the Rappahannock River on April 29 and positioned his forces between the Wilderness and Chancellor crossroads. On May 1 he advanced his army with the goal of driving Lee southward toward the South Anna River. Lee was able to stop Hooker's turning movement with one of his own, and on May 2 Thomas Jonathan (Stonewall) Jackson's flanking movement drove in Hooker's right flank. Hooker retreated across the river, but Lee was unable to further punish the Union forces.
Also on May 2, Union general John Sedgwick drove Jubal Early's Confederate defenders out of Fredericksburg and toward Chancellorsville, threatening Lee's right flank. The next day Lee ordered a portion of his line to


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Statewide bingo game threatened
"Remote caller bingo" links sites, increases jackpots and charity money
SACRAMENTO A small crowd of fervent bingo players gathers at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Chula Vista on most Tuesday nights hoping to hit a jackpot and leave a little on the table for charity.
Mary and Bill Fox are among the regulars, spending roughly $30 for a night's worth of games and contributing to the roughly $12,000 St. Pius has raised from "remote caller bingo" for its school and the needy.
The Foxes had been intently watching the monitor where, as the name remote caller bingo suggests, participants can play at various locations across the state and simultaneously link into a caller beamed in from elsewhere.
"We play bingo here for enjoyment," Mary Fox said. "And it's helping out the church."
But perhaps not for much longer.
Every so often bingo manager and parishioner Michael Brault would interrupt the game with a message. "Call the governor and tell him that we need remote-caller bingo," he urged the players. "Get them to approve this legislation."
Far away in Sacramento that legislation designed to extend the life of the bingo game has suddenly stalled, ostensibly because state Department of Justice officials have put a $700,000 price tag on oversight.
But suspicions have been raised by supporters of the game that Indian tribes are using their political muscle to secretly kill off competition. It's a charge denied by tribes — who have opposed remote-caller bingo in the past — lawmakers and government agencies involved.
Prospects for the bill appear bleak just a handful of days before the Legislature closes down at midnight Friday.
Much is at stake for those offering the games, including the Catholic Church, American Legion posts and social clubs.
Nonprofits have taken in $800,000 since March 2011. Of that, about $300,000 has been distributed to various causes at a time when government and Californians have had to squeeze aid to the needy.
There are 18 licenses for remote-caller bingo, but the state reports that only eight nonprofits offer venues. Saint Pius is the only site in San Diego County. The bill potentially allows the games to expand.
State regulators and some lawmakers say so few charities offer remote caller bingo that they simply cannot afford to cover the estimated $700,000 expense without hurting other programs that count on a cash-starved state general fund.
"I don't see how they could come up with that (money)," said Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a Los Angeles Democrat who chairs the Appropriations Committee that buried the bill.
Assemblyman Isadore Hall, a Compton Democrat and chairman of the powerful Governmental Organization Committee, is one of those who insist that the state regulate the game.
But Hall is convinced that Department of Justice officials have overstated their projected outlay.
"It's absolutely exaggerated. That's a bogus cost," said Hall, adding the price tag should be closer to $100,000.
Supporters of remote caller bingo claim any tab is a flimsy excuse because charities by law are required through fees to cover the state's expenses. They suspect Indian tribes are behind the sudden freeze on the bill's advance to the governor's desk.
"Sometimes a little history is worth a lot of arguments," said John Lovell, who represents a business providing the equipment called Bingo Innovations of California as well as involved nonprofit groups.
Gaming tribes dismiss the accusation and are not listed as opponents of the bill.
"We have heard the same silly rumors," said Jacob Mejia, director of public affairs for a casino operated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Riverside. He said the tribe has no position on the bill.
Pechanga offered a bingo game this year as part of its 10th anniversary, but "it is by no stretch of the imagination considered remote-caller bingo," Mejia added.


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This mosaic comparison used the Nikon D3x, a 24 megapixel DSLR with ~ 5.6 micron pixels — a challenge for any lens.
This comparison also has its limitations: the lenses were effectively at infinity focus. Performance at other distances can change significantly, as can field curvature, and the combination of focal length and focus distance is endless.
Summary of aperture performance Permalink
Apertures f/2.8 and f/4 vary in performance by lens and focal length, ranging from poor to outstanding. Review the crops for details, and lens notes below.
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Since 2006, Diglloyd Advanced Photography is the authoritative review and reference for DSLRs and their lenses: Canon and Nikon primarily, but also Pentax and some medium format. Reviews of key DSLRs are included, but the primary focus is on lens performance. Also included is a wealth of technique and workflow approaches.
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Posts tagged social media analytics
Your marketing success may hinge on Gray Social Media
Feb 9th
In the last year, a lot has been written about "dark social media" — the vast majority of content sharing you'll never see because it's occurring through email, direct messages, texting, and other private communication channels.
In a recent post, I pointed to research that shows that as much as 70 percent of social sharing is unknown to us. And perhaps we only know 2 percent of our non-lurking audience!
This presents a real problem for marketers. Getting content to move through a loyal audience is critical to business success. A study commissioned by Google shows that your most-loyal audience is more than 250 percent more likely to transmit your content and 200 percent more likely to make purchases from your company. These engaged customers don't just buy your products again and again, but encourage others to do it, too.
In my book, The Content Code, I describe this elite group as the Alpha Audience – fervent supporters, and a rare breed we can rely on for loyalty, ignition, and most important, action. We urgently need to find more of those people for our businesses, but if most of this powerful audience lurks in the shadows, how do we know they're there?
Gray social media
I would like to propose today that between dark social media and light social media, there is a third category that is rich in undiscovered marketing opportunity — Gray Social Media. These are the small, still voices who are clearly telling us they're there, but we can't detect their quiet signals and capture the data.
This idea was prompted through a conversation I had with Avtar Ram Singh, a digital marketing manager based in Singapore and one of the keenest minds I have come across in this space. He told this story:
After working on our company blog for a while, I found great value in diving into Google Analytics to see where the traffic was coming from.
I found a little app link in there that I hadn't seen before and noticed that every week, this place would send us between 20-50 visits. Not a lot, but they were consistently coming from this source.
I found out that this app was an internal team communication tool. So I knew there was some group out there sharing links to my blog in an environment behind a firewall. This is "dark social media" … but there was also a clue for me to know they were out there.
I did some sleuthing to check if any agencies I knew in the city used this tool. I came up empty until after several weeks, one of them said through a LinkedIn message that they used it.
It turned out this was a group of marketers who are my exact target audience — loving my content! I would have never known unless I had seen this small signal and dug in to investigate. Now that I knew who they were, I was able to form a business relationship with them.
Avtar and I traded ideas about the many other small signals out there that simply aren't picked up by the analytics programs which are optimized to give us broad trends, patterns, and large-scale shifts in sentiment. Perhaps much of our dark social media really isn't that dark because we're just not looking for their signals, or we're focused in the wrong places. Innovation and insight don't come from Big Data. They come from Little Data.
The small signals before us
Is it possible that you could somehow organize "small signal sleuthing" to discover a whole new category of passionate customers? Consider:
- Somebody I didn't know left me an endorsement for "digital marketing" on LinkedIn. This might be the one and only time I hear from this person, their lone small signal to me that they're a fan. What if I could determine that in fact this was no idle act — this person only gives out two endorsements per year. Wouldn't that be meaningful to know?
- What if a woman among your followers only tweets a few times a month. Her level of tweeting is so obscure that she is invisible on the social analytics radar. But what if I could determine that 25 percent of her tweets were about my company? Isn't that a "gray signal" that this person cares about my content in an extraordinary way?
- What if you knew that there is a person who ONLY comments on your blog? That means something, even if they only comment twice a year.
Chances are, these "gray" messages are not weak signals at all. These may be the equivalent of the vast, shy, silent majority virtually screaming their love for us.
If we had a way to scale this process and collect this important gray matter, what would I do with the information? Is there a way to connect the dots and form a more meaningful relationship with these important individuals? I'm convinced these signals from our quiet, yet essential, Gray Social Media audience are beaming to us all the time, but we're missing them because there's no easy process to track, quantify, and develop these subtle leads.
How do we measure the relative importance of gray?
Certainly CRM and automated marketing software are evolving in a way that can help us begin to discover these quiet voices, but there are a lot of conditions. A person would have to show themselves as a subscriber to our blog or newsletter before we can set an algorithmic "magnet" that will help us collect other small signals that can bring dark fans into the light.
Likewise, we can possibly communicate with people who visit our sites even when they're "dark" through retargeted ads.
But even then, do we know their names? Is there an opportunity for real relationship-building with an IP address? I think a lot of people in the gray space are telling us they're there. And I'm not sure I've seen software that can detect relative intensity or significance of an interaction. For example, the person who mostly tweets about me, but only tweets a few times a month, would be chalked up somewhere merely as an insignificant "mention," not as an extraordinary sign of commitment from a shy person.
Quiet is not irrelevant!
This might be a business opportunity for somebody out there. Or, are there other ways to detect these folks you're already using? This is a new idea, so let me hear from you. Have you thought about focusing on the very small signals of the Gray Social Media? Is this the future of social media metrics?
Note: The brilliant data scientist Christopher Penn wrote a wonderful blog post with ideas on how to discover the gray audience. A recommended read: "Gray social media and social monitoring tools"
Illustration courtesy Flickr CC and Photomaginerium
Also, thanks to my friend Brooke Ballard who helped clarify my thinking on this topic through fun and lively debates.
Can Marketers Predict and Measure Influence, Down to the Dollar?
Oct 22nd
By Kerry Gorgone, {grow} Contributing Columnist
Social scoring and ROI are two hot topics for marketers, and right now they're largely separate considerations. But what if you could know which people were truly influential in terms of driving revenue for your brand?
Instead of guessing based on follower counts or shares, what if you could dig deep into customer data and predict which customers would drive more spending through social media? Marketers have been wondering about this for years. In his 2012 book Return on Influence, Mark Schaefer predicted that companies would seek to assign dollar values to influencers.
Even then, Schaefer saw influence as having a direct and measurable impact on the bottom line. "As companies begin to connect the dots between online influence and offline activities, real dollar values can be placed on customers and the demonstrated impact of their influence."
The Crowded Landscape
The options abound for enterprises interested in a predictive analytics tool: with so many vendors in the space, it's easy to find comprehensive articles like this one that compare the features and limitations of each possibility.
Major players like IBM, Dell and Oracle are facing increased competition from start-ups claiming to have cracked the code for measuring and predicting social influence on revenue.
Newcomer Ninja Metrics, for instance, superimposes purchase data over a customer's social graph. Their algorithm purportedly enables companies to see who influences whom, and specifically how much money people spend as a result of their influential friends' purchases.
Blue Yonder, another contender, has a team of scientists powering its software, which pairs predictive analytics with automation to create "automated, high-performance forecasts for buying behavior." If that sounds like a risky proposition, that's because it is. Given the wildly variable nature of consumer psychology and behavior, any solution offering full automation must be carefully scrutinized.
Although automation in this area may be fraught with risk, predictive modeling does provide some potentially powerful data. Armed with accurate predictions of consumer behavior, companies could drive customer acquisition and retention, increase consumer spending, and reduce churn. But any tool is of questionable benefit unless its predictions can be tested against actual results.
How does it work?
By examining spending correlations between users, predictive analytics software determines who drives others to make purchases. Depending on the tool, companies can parse the data extremely fine to figure out exactly how much revenue users bring in because of their social interactions.
Using analytics, it may be possible to adjust the lifetime value of existing customers upward (or downward) based on the amount of money they bring in above and beyond their own spending.
But according to Dmitri Williams, CEO of Ninja Metrics, the classic big spenders (or "whales") aren't necessarily the same people who drive social spending.
"Classic whales may spend for enjoyment or conspicuous consumption," explains Williams. "That's different from people who are extremely tied in with their friends, and spend money to enjoy their company. "
With "social whales," spending is about the relationship. "They don't necessarily wind up spending a lot for that," says Williams, "but they cause a lot of people to join them and share in the experience with them: there's a very different sociology to the spending pattern."
Is this really new?
Start-ups often tout their analytics and modeling tools as revolutionary, but predictive modeling has been around for 15 years or more, according to Burke Powers, a senior managing consultant and practice lead for the IBM Business Analytics Solution Services team.
"It's the same idea as when ice cream parlors used to give coupons to cheerleaders," says Powers. "The cheerleaders had the social influence to bring their friends in, turn the parlor into a cool place, and drive business. Predictive modeling uses the same process, only now it's online."
Businesses have long tried to use social influence to drive sales, and they've never had more data at their disposal. "The impact of social influence on selling has been widely studied," says Powers. "Marketers can compile full psychological profiles, do product profiling, create complex, actionable clusters of data—all this data can be added to the social graph and used to predict customer behavior, so the technology is there."
Social Scoring vs. Quantifiable Influence
In order to drive actual revenue, predictive modeling and influence measurement would need to go well beyond social scoring services like Klout, Kred and PeerIndex.
"[These services] assume influence,'" Williams observes, "based on who's being retweeted the most. But that's not anything you can really prove. As a scientist, you can't publish that."
The key, according to Williams, is to think about the friendships themselves, rather than the relationship between the brand and the customer. "People enjoy products and services together," he explains, "so what's really important is their relationship: if you can reinforce that, you can sell more."
The question, as Powers sees it, is less about identifying "social whales," and more about determining what kind of influence these people have. Can they influence others to come to a business (and stay)? Use a product or game? Influence them to buy? And how can companies channel influence into sales? Without the ability to act on this insight, companies are unlikely to see the value, according to Powers.
Can you measure influence?
Theoretically, predictive analytics could revolutionize marketing.
Marketers could target "social whales" based on quantifiable, provable influence, identify which key users are at risk to stop using the product or service, and test the impact of win-back messaging, marketing campaigns, coupons and other tactics all the way through to the individual spend.
So why don't more companies use predictive modeling? Because it has the potential to be creepy if used without thinking about how customers will react, explains Powers.
"The technology exists, but many companies are still coming to terms with the complexity and working out how to implement in a customer-friendly way," he says.
Essentially, with enough data, it's possible to predict influence, but you might creep out the influencers or those being influenced. Powers's prediction: "There are going to be a lot of mistakes made before best practices are well understood."
The mystery of "which 50% of your marketing works" could finally be solved, but can businesses effectively use this knowledge without being ham-fisted about it?
What do you think? Can you measure influence to such a granular degree, and is it worth the cost of collecting the data you'd need to power this type of algorithm?
Kerry O'Shea Gorgone is a writer, lawyer, speaker and educator. She's also Instructional Design Manager, Enterprise Training, at MarketingProfs. Kerry hosts the weekly Marketing Smarts podcast. Find her on Google+ and Twitter.
The evolution of social media analytics
Dec 19th
Click here if you cannot see my video interview with Shree Dandekar of Dell.
You probably can't pick up a book on social media best practices without seeing some reference to Dell. They are one of the undisputed pioneers, leaders and innovators in the field of social media.
During my recent trip to Austin, I had an opportunity to catch up with Shree Dandekar, Dell's chief strategist for business intelligence and analytics. This was a rare opportunity to peek under the covers of what is next in social media innovation. And according to Shree, it's not about more sharing, posting and selfies. It's about creating measurable results.
In this brief video interview, Shree covers some vital topics:
- How do you convert social media data into actionable insights?
- Moving from "alien" data to creating core business value from social media.
- The evolution of social media analytics
- The next level of social media: Connecting social "targeting" with business data.
- How do you tease out real insights from mountains of meaningless signals?
I hope you enjoy this interview and find the discussion as thought-provoking as I did. Please share your questions and observations in the comment section below.
Disclosure: I have never received any payment or merchandise from Dell. However they did cover my travel expenses to attend the Dell World conference in Austin where I recorded this interview.
The number one business opportunity in marketing today
Oct 15th
Here's the number one business opportunity in marketing today: Teach marketing leaders, social media gurus and SEO professionals how to ask the right questions about data.
I'm serious. There is a golden opportunity here because many businesses leaders don't seem to know enough about basic marketing analytics to know whether their programs are growing or not. We are leading "by our gut" in a world that promises true wisdom and insight if we can understand the numbers.
The implication is that we are potentially (and probably) making incorrect decisions because we're mis-interpreting the numbers … perhaps we don't even know the right questions to ask.
If you're in marketing, you MUST understand this issue!
I believe that just a basic knowledge of measurement tools can go a LONG WAY in helping to propel and differentiate your business … and so does Tom Webster, the co-host on the Marketing Companion podcast. While this may sound boring, I promise you that our latest edition of the podcast is not. In fact, as you will soon hear, it is downright magical. We explore what we consider the number one issue for most marketing leaders today: Understanding metrics to make business decisions —
— The biggest business opportunity in marketing today
— The danger of focusing on the what instead of the why or the how
— Tom's five fundamental questions to guide a content marketing strategy
— Getting drunk on growth
— The importance of talking to people
— Content marketing at the end of the sales cycle
— Content marketing as "fishing" — are you even in the right lake?
— Guest appearances from Gini Dietrich and Sean McGinnis
— The magic metrics for content marketing and lead conversion
Are you ready for this? Can you HANDLE THE TRUTH? Here we go:
Other Ways to Listen to this Podcast:
Resources mentioned in this podcast:
The book Good to Great by Jim Collins
Our friends Gini Dietrich and Sean McGinnis
Further reading: Marketing and social media measurement
This content was created as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I've been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.
Subscribe to {Grow}
Welcome to {grow}You're in marketing for one reason: Grow. Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you're here. -Mark Schaefer
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Comments about 'Kathleen Parker: Far right and the mainstream media now have a common cause'
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@Nate – "There's really no place for making unprompted
accusations of racism. When people do it, they're usually
OK, we'll just pretend that all the prejudices that allowed Nixon to employ the brilliantly cynical "southern strategy" have all disappeared.
"Liberty comes to mind."
If you say so… what comes to my mind is fear and paranoia (of government involved in anything bigger than putting up a stop light).
"Okay, first tell me how many oceans, rivers, forests, and fields are in your airtight room. Because it's an analogy, right?"
That's a fair point but it does suggest there is a limit to the "self-cleansing" our biosphere can do, especially when it is getting a sustained and growing dump of CO2 and other pollutants.
And I don't necessarily buy into the Al-Gore-cataclysmic camp, but the point I've made many times on this forum is that the AGW deniers/skeptics are taking an awfully big risk (assuming either no problem or no action can fix it) with the only home we have.
Reached comment limit...
- 1:53 p.m. May 16, 2013
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@Tyler D "...Nixon...'southern strategy'..."
Be careful not to perpetuate a myth. I recommend reading "The Lost Majority," by Sean Trende, or at least a good review of it. If you want it in a nutshell, he examines voting patterns, ideology, and demographics to show that Republicans won the South the hard way, by appealing to a broad range of interests and values. If racism played any part at all, it was in keeping the South loyal to the Democrats for longer than they otherwise would have been.
"...what comes to my mind is fear and paranoia...of government..."
There's nothing wrong with a little healthy skepticism toward people in power. Those may be *your* IRS files someday.
"...the AGW deniers/skeptics are taking an awfully big risk...with the only home we have."
I can be convinced by a sound argument. I'm just waiting for an alarmist to present one.
- 5:05 p.m. May 16, 2013
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My Lincoln LS 2002 started saying ABS Check Traction Control today but after I turned the car off and back on later it doesn't say it anymore. This just happened today but need to know how much it would cost to test and replace any sensor modules if needed.
by hotmommacita03 in Bossier City, LA on September 09, 2013


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Founded in 1997, Tepin Information is a privately held Limited Liability Company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. Tepin specializes in streamlining aMore
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The day my mother met my birth mother.
"The Meetings of the Moms"
I never expected my adoptive mother and my birth mother to meet. But before I knew it, they were in the same city, exchanging photos and stories from my life.
The day my mother met my birth mother.
Copyright © 1999-2016 Adoptive Families Magazine®. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


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Following the publication of the AAIB's report into the incident at London TMA (terminal control area) on 27 July 2009 London City Airport has thoroughly reviewed the report issued by the AAIB. Following advice from NATS and the CAA procedural changes have been made which comply with the AAIB's safety recommendations.
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com
For more on media relations.
For enquiries regarding specific flights, routes or aircraft please contact the airline directly.
Andrew Scott
PR Manager
Tel: +44 (0)203 203 2497Email Andrew directly >
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Corporate Communications Director
Tel: +44 (0)207 646 0132Email Charlotte directly >
Out of hours urgent media enquiries only: 07801 579 273 / 07747 103 884
Please note - the press office does not deal with marketing, advertising or sponsorship. Please contact the switchboard on 0207 646 0000/88 and ask for the relevant department.
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Hello foosters,
I lurk here but haven't posted often in this particular subforum. I'm hoping I can get a little advice from some of you who have experience with my situation.
Attempt at short version:
I was involved in a traffic collision with a car while riding my bike. From everything I understand it was the driver's fault, but since I was unconscious for part of the incident and in the ambulance for the rest, I was unable to get her information (name, insurance, etc), or talk to any witnesses.
A police report has not been filed yet, but I have the officer's name and email who is on the case. He says the report should be filed 7-10 business days after the incident (the accident was Thurs Nov 4, so 7 business days is Monday the 15th).
I was interviewed by an officer while in the trauma center (and on pain meds and still really out of it). I remember saying how fast I was going (under the speed limit), and asking how the driver was doing
What do I do now? My cell phone was broken (expensive android device), kit was cut off of me, helmet busted, and there is some damage to my bike. I expect the medical bills to be $20-40k, and my property damage to be between $1500 and $4000 (bike is being checked out at LBS).
I'm not interested in making lots of $$ from this incident, but would like my expenses covered and possible a few bucks acknowledging the fact that I am going to have some pretty ugly scaring on my neck.
Can I go get a new phone and be reimbursed later? How willing are most insurance companies to pay for reasonable costs if their client is found at fault? I've heard "get a lawyer" from a bunch of people, but I don't see this accident as me having won the lottery. I just want to "be made whole", as they say, but not in a large settlement kind of way. I also want this thing to be over. I'm not interested in dealing with this during my free time next September.
I hope I didn't run on too much. I'm really lost right now, and can't seem to get more than a quick iphone email response from the officer on the case.
thank you


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All-State football team: Norman's Donovan Roberts played early and hurt in becoming school's career rushing and scoring leader
When Donovan Roberts was a freshman, Norman coach Greg Nation knew there was no reason to hold him back.
"There wasn't anybody else on our team better than he was that year," Nation said. "So we moved him up. The way he accepted that role, though, as a 14-year-old, is when I knew I had a really special player."
Roberts didn't disappoint.
As a senior this year, he ran for 1,595 yards and 23 touchdowns. For his career, Roberts set school recording in rushing and scoring with 5,394 yards and 76 touchdowns.
His efforts earned him Oklahoman All-State honors.
"I really wanted to hit that 2,000-yard mark again," Roberts said. "I think if I would've been completely healthy I could've done that, but overall I was pretty pleased."
For much of the season, a leg injury bothered Roberts, but he didn't show it much outwardly.
In the season opener against Norman North, he ran for nearly 200 yards. Against Broken Arrow in a game where Norman nearly pulled the upset, he ran for 176.
Then there was the first-round playoff game against Owasso.
Owasso coach Bill Patterson got a look at All-State backs in back-to-back weeks to start the playoffs.
The Rams got out of both — against Roberts' Tigers and a second-round meeting with Midwest City and James Flanders — with wins but came away impressed with the differing styles of both.
"They're both such competitors," Patterson said. "The more you give it to them, the better they get. Donovan is a between-the-tackles runner. He might not have the speed that Flanders does on the corner but he's got incredible instincts when he's got the ball."
Roberts, just a week after missing much of Norman's game against Jenks with an injury, rushed for more than 200 yards against the Rams.
Even on the sidelines just after his injury, Roberts told Tigers coach Greg Nation not to worry.
"He just kept saying, 'I'm going to play. No matter what it says, I'm going to play,'" Nation said.
Roberts, like fellow All-Stater Keon Hatcher, had long been committed to Arkansas. Postseason transfers and Roberts' numbers this season were enough to draw an offer from Oklahoma but Roberts is sticking with the Razorbacks.


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Finally the long weekend is here and somehow I managed to put my back out yesterday so it's pretty stiff. Even though it's raining, I'm really temped to go out for a least a little ride, maybe on my hybrid.
This hasn't happened to me for a couple of years, so I can't remember if I need to baby it for a while, or just ignore it and it'll disappear. This is really disappointing, I was planning to do 50 - 100 km each day of the holiday. Now I'm going to have to finish those renovations I started about 10 years ago.
Advise anyone?


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Granted, but so should one be careful discrediting someone so flippantly.
He says the suit is new - having been tailored - but not worn. I don't see any reason to dispute this and I don't think it's appropriate to do so publicly based on speculation.
I stand by what I said - I've had great dealings with him.
Edited by marblehouse - 3/9/13 at 4:09pm


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Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin insists he deserved to stay on the pitch for their draw with West Ham United.
Schneiderlin went in heavily on West Ham midfielder Momo Diame.
"I need to see the image again but at that moment I didn't think I had done anything wrong.
"I didn't have the feeling at the time that it was bad, I am not a player who commits those kind of fouls.
"If I touched him in any way I apologise but I have not the feeling that I did anything wrong."
For the big stories and the banter follow us on Twitter: @tribalfootball


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Clean Cities coalitions all across the country are helping their communities get ready for plug-in electric vehicles.
Two Department of Energy employees have been nominated for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for their work to improve medical treatment and reduce greenhouse gases.
Statewide program provides low-income homeowners with rebates on money-saving, energy-efficient appliances.
AE Solar Energy is using EERE funds to commercialize grid-stabilizing technologies.
An AltaRock demonstration project will produce geothermal energy from hot, dry underground rock.
EIS-0495: Walla Walla Basin Spring Chinook Hatchery Program; Umatilla County, Oregon
Investments in the clean energy economy are paying off in Oregon and across the country.
Located in Arlington, Oregon, Shepherds Flat generates up to 845 megawatts of wind power everyday and helped grow the local economy.
How we're supporting innovative projects that harness America's strong wave and tidal resources.
BPA recently became the first federal agency in Portland, Oregon, to achieve the city's Sustainability at Work Gold Certification for sustainability efforts at its headquarters building.
1000 Independence Ave. SWWashington DC 20585202-586-5000


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Single sign-on access
Problem Solve TACACS Issues
We've gathered up expert advice and tips from professionals like you so that the answers you need are always available.
Router Expert: Configuring Advanced TACACS+ - Part 2: Implementing Authorization
Implement access-control using the "A" in the middle, Authorization. Continue Reading
Router Expert: TACACS authentication methods
This article covers authentication methods available using the tac_plus daemon. Continue Reading


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Security and data breaches don't favor one organization or industry over another and are taking place every day. Companies should consider the "how" of a breach -- as opposed to the "who" -- to evaluate their exposure to a similar event.
Retail operations remain a target to hackers due to the volume of information in their systems, including credit card information, confidential information for loyalty programs, and employee data. The victims of these attacks are an organization's most valued assets: their employees and customers.
Until recently, many thought data risk was trivial compared to other threats such as theft, slip and falls, and workplace violence. But with data compromise occurring at much greater frequency, it's one risk you don't want to underestimate. Reputational harm stemming from a poorly managed data breach can be catastrophic.Five myths you can't afford to believe
1. Data theft is not a problem for me -- my company is too small. Data privacy is a concern for organizations of any size. Rogue employees, data thieves, and unscrupulous business associates are looking for opportunities to take advantage of any weakness or mistake. Additionally, human error by negligent or careless staff account for a surprising number of data breaches around the country.
2. We can afford to self-insure the risk. As the economy continues to recover, companies are still closely watching discretionary spending, including certain lines of insurance coverage.
Many organizations wrongly believe that if something happens to their data, they can afford to cover the costs. According to a recent Ponemon Institute study, the average cost for a small breach of 1,000 records could easily exceed $200,000 -- a sum that many companies cannot easily absorb.
Remember, the majority of funds to respond to a breach need to be liquid. Breach vendors typically look for payment before or at the time service is rendered, and payment for postage is required when the letter is mailed, not 30 days later.
3. Coverage is expensive and hard to get. This perception was true five years ago but is not true today. Competition, claims experience and a larger pool of buyers have made network security and privacy liability coverage more cost-effective and easier to obtain.
Even with the recent proliferation of retail breaches, the market remains relatively stable. Some carriers, however, are more cautious when reviewing risks with a large volume of credit card data.
4. Our general liability policy will cover us. General-liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage as well as advertising injury and personal injury. The courts have consistently stated that data are not property because they are intangible. The perils associated with advertising injury and personal injury are very specific.


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so im one of those guys who bought a 56cm IRO from the group buy who thinks he should have maybe gotten a 59. so my bianchi pista is a 56 and fits pretty good. does the shorter tube mean i'll just have a few more cm of seat post sticking out? will handling change? i feel like bikes that are longer rather than taller should be less "twitchy" less agressive.
someone fill me in.


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I can not get over this.
I can not get over this.
Originally Posted by TechKnowGN
I guess he wouldn't be too unhappy if dey be stealin his diabeetus, though
Is it just me or is there a bit of resemblance to Wilford Brimley?Originally Posted by Falkon
. He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.- Fredrick Nietzsche
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - Immanuel Kant
There is a sports talk radio station here in town and they had a bit in it with Wilford Brimleys Bed Post Goat as one of the characters. I have NO FRIGGIN IDEA what that means, but I cannot hear Wilford's name without adding bed post goat to the end now.
Here is my newest favorite
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Originally Posted by Tom Stormcrowe
Needs glasses.
Originally Posted by Siu Blue Wind
Right, but he's definitely got the moustache down...
My daughter showed me that site last night. Too funny!Originally Posted by x136
Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one?