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solarscholarsofmagick · 4 years

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7 Feelings that Most Witches Can Relate To

1. Feeling shame when you forget about a holiday (again)

Let’s be honest; it happens to us at least once. Life gets busy and before you know it, you see posts on Twitter, saying, “Blessed Ostara!” while you are in the breakroom, scarfing down bagel bites while simultaneously trying your damnedest to get marinara sauce off your white shirt. What happens next can only be compared to the 5 stages of grief:

Denial: Maybe everyone was just posting stuff early. Maybe they’re in a timezone waaaayyy ahead of yours. You didn’t see anything posted about it yesterday, so there’s no need to look at a calendar, because you didn’t forget about the holiday.

Anger: It’s not your fault, it’s society’s fault. It’s not like there’s tons of advertisements about it in the media. No, everyone is hung up on Easter. The lack of accurate representation pisses you off and you’re prepared to scream from the top of your lungs about your beliefs.

Bargaining: Okay, so maybe you initially forgot about it, but you can totally make up for it. You still have time in the day to go to the store and buy some ingredients to make a quick meal as an offering. Wiping that stain off your shirt can kinda represent creating a clean-slate, can’t it?

Depression: You are legit the worst witch in the world. What kind of witch doesn’t even remember the major holidays. No amount of salvaging the day will erase the fact that you forgot about it in the first place.

Acceptance: Missing the occasional (or every) holiday isn’t something worth beating yourself up for, especially since they traditionally span three days or a week anyways. Even non-witches will forget about mainstream holidays. Besides, there’s always next year if you absolutely can’t do anything this week.

2. Trying not to destroy your bank account on a really cool crystal

For most witches, the fascination with what are essentially pretty rocks predates their official delve into the craft. When we do delve, however, that love (pretty much an obsession at this point) amplifies. So, when we go by that crystal kiosk in the mall, it becomes all too hard to resist buying that $50 bonsai tree with leaves of tiny jade shards. Sometimes it’s a jade tree, sometimes it’s a large amethyst geode, and sometimes it’s a hand-crafted obsidian dagger with an ornate elk-antler handle. However, the little voice in the back of your head desperately screams out that this money can be better used on food or on hoarding toilet paper (excuse our memeing). Who wins the argument? Hell if I know. *tries to sneakily slide card across the counter*

3. Not being sure which *witchy* aesthetic you want to represent

There are so many different aesthetics that you see witches portray on social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and even Tumblr. There are so many, and they’re all so damn cute, so finding one to truly commit to is about as difficult as choosing your starter in the first Pokemon game. (Charmander is the right answer to that decision, by the way). Those aesthetics include, but are not limited to:

The “traditional” witch- This aesthetic is typically described as Goth, witchy, or spooky. It can entail black lipstick, straight pitch-black hair, spider-web stockings, and platform boots that go up to your knees or thighs. There is nothing wrong with following this aesthetic. Go for it and relish in the fact that you can easily crush your enemies under your 5-inch platforms. And the fact that you are able to walk in them while normies just can’t seem to quite grasp the skill.

The plant witch- These witches will wear lots of greens and often have floral or tree tattoos. Their social media is usually saturated with pictures of their green children. Their hands are more often than not coated in a thin layer of dirt, especially under their nails. They yearn for their own greenhouse or maybe just a really nice sunroom.

The bohemian witch- These witches fulfill an aesthetic similar to the hippie movement of the mid-1900’s. You can usually find them wearing comfortable, loose-fitting clothes, and, more often than not, barefoot. Their Instagram is typically full of yoga poses and soap that they just hand-crafted.

The closet witch– Because these witches are not open (or are actively hiding) their craft, it is not easy to spot one. You have to look closer to see the signs. Such signs will usually be in the form of crystal and/or symbolic jewelry.

Pro-tip: You don’t have to fulfill a certain aesthetic. The aesthetic is never what makes a witch a true witch. So go nuts and wear what you want to wear. Your personal style is your aesthetic.

4. Getting Roasted by Your Own Tarot Cards/Runes/Divination Method

We usually consult our cards when we need answers. However, sometimes, we already know the answers and are just in denial. In these times, we consult our trusty tarot cards to find the real answer, since the one in our heads is obviously not the right one. It can feel like a slap in the face whenever we do a reading, hoping/praying for a different answer, and receiving what we already knew or facts we wished we hadn’t discovered. In these situations, it can mean that something unpleasant is the result of our own actions or that we have to do something unpleasant in the near future. The cards do not care about your feelings. The cards care about giving you the answers you need and helping you.

5. Forgetting About the Jar That You Put Outside to Collect Rainwater

It’s supposed to be simple. You wait until it rains, you grab a jar, you put it outside, and, once it finishes raining, you bring it back in. But, no, it never ends up this simple. It all seems to go wrong at step 4. After we put the jar out, more often than not, we go on about our day and the jar leaves our mind… usually for a few days. By that time, however, the water has either been evaporated or it has been contaminated with dirt, pollen, or even bugs. Just like with forgetting holidays, we tell ourselves that we won’t forget next time, but you don’t need to consult your cards in order to know that, unless you set an alarm on your phone, the cycle will only repeat itself.

6. Being Overwhelmed in the Beginning

Witchcraft is such a broad, broad term. When you say that you’re going to “practice witchcraft,” it can mean a multitude of things. You could be performing a spell, praying to your gods, drawing sigils, astral projecting, divining, and much, much more. You quickly discover this when you start your journey into the craft and it becomes overwhelming. We are in an age where vast amounts of information is at our fingertips at any moment. You find yourself asking, “Where do I begin?” We tell ourselves, “Let’s find a guide!” Then, we see that there are hundreds of “beginner” guides to the craft in bookstores and thousands online. It’s stressful and there’s a pressure of picking one that had the “right” version of things. In the end, you just have to make a leap of faith and pick one that feels right to you. Build your craft from things that pique your interest. Or, like me, you can close your eyes and grab one off the shelf and go with that.

7. Being Exasperated with Incorrect Portrayals of Witches/Paganism/Magick

You’re just hanging out with someone or a group, or you’re just chilling by yourself, innocently checking out something claiming to be about witches or paganism or magick- or even those books or movies about Ouija boards and/or malignant spirits- and as you’re watching, you notice some things are wrong. Very wrong. In fact, if the people in this had any knowledge at all of magick or paganism, they wouldn’t be in this unfortunate circumstance to begin wi- hey, don’t go without closing the ritual prope- at least the salt is still lini- hey, don’t do tha– I don’t even care anymore, they had no respect or reason to even do this in the first place. If people look to these things as what practicing magick is like (there are some very ignorant people out there), then they are getting a lot of misinformation and downright insulting stereotypes and stigmas ingrained in their minds. No, not all spirits are bad and trying to kill you, maybe if you’d show some respect, Karen, things wouldn’t try to kill you or possess you or whatever the fuck is going on here.

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#witchblr #witch #witchcraft #witches of color #witches of tumblr #wicca #wiccablr #wiccan #wiccans of color #wiccans of tumblr #pagan #paganism #pagans of color #pagans of tumblr #occult #paranormal #spiritual #spiritualism

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solarpunkvegan · 4 years

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Please cite your sources. Listen, I believe you, and if you're wrong, it's most likely because you believe it yourself. Some people do intentionally lie, of course, but I don't believe it's the majority.

I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Most people are ignorant not stupid, meaning they lack knowledge, not the ability to understand that knowledge. We thought the internet age would bring about a second enlightenment because everyone would have access to knowledge. But then disinformation, misinformation, and lies pervaded it.

When you try to teach me sometime new I didn't know, I'm excited, I love learning. I trust that you probably aren't out to lie to me. But if we don't cite our sources, how can we ever stave off our post-truth age where facts are meaningless?

I know you're busy, I know it's not your "job" to do the research for others. But when there's too much info out there it becomes confusing and overwhelming. If you want to educate you need to cite sources, even if you find that people refuse to click on them, which happens to me a lot. At least you've done your part. The knowledge is right there at their fingertips, if they choose not to click it, they know they're choosing to not listen to your side. If you cite sources, even if no one clicks them, it appears to anyone looking like you've done your research, which you have, and it changes the way they look at your content. The person you're talking to might refuse to listen, but you've still planted a seed. Anyone else watching sees that you not only were calm, logical, kind, and posted sources, but if they click the sources themselves they can see that the person arguing against you didn't bother to click the sources themselves.

Yes, people have said to me, literally, "I can just post an opposite source!" All. The. Time.

And yes, when I nicely asked one of them to post their source they blocked me. (BTW, this was about masks and was with another animal rights activist, someone who's been vegan for over a decade and is over 40 years old. The source I posted was from Dr. Greger, a famous plant-based doctor who donates all his proceeds from book sales and speaking tours to charity, has a free app and website with no ads or corporate sponsors that runs on donations and volunteers. He doesn't sell any pills, diet fads, scams, or other products besides some cute t-shirts that also go into the site maintenance.)

In blocking me she probably also removed my comments which is not ideal. That's what makes Tumblr great in some respects, when they block me they can't delete what I've said. Anyone watching will see what has occurred: one person was calm, kind, and posted sources, the other was angry, mean, and then blocked them. YouTube comments are the same way, the person who made the video can erase comments or turn them off, but they usually don't want to because comments drive the alogoritm and get the video more views. So if we have debates about veganism in the comments of vegan videos we do 3 things:

Boost the video, using the algorithm to our advantage.

Have a debate with someone and potentially change their mind.

Let others see us being calm, logical, rational, kind, and posting credible sources.

Plant seeds for whoever sees any of this, including those we debate with.

I need to stop doing this type of activism myself as it's not good for my mental health and it distracts me from work I think I could do more good with, my YouTube videos and art. It can be grating, it can take a toll, but so can any activism. It may seem like "slacktivism" but if you are someone with less options for activism than others it could be ideal. Not everyone can participate in all forms of activism and different kinds are good for different people. If the way you want to do activism is by opening a vegan bakery, or making vegan art, or donating to vegan organizations, signing petitions, sharing things on social media, etc. all are helpful. But in all endeavors it's best to stay calm, kind, respectful, and to post links to sources and quote those sources too. If this is something you struggle with that's ok, this type of activism may not be for you. If talking to people stresses you out, raises your anxiety, or if you have a hard time staying calm, then that's ok, maybe just do something else with your time and energy.

But if you are going to post, try to make those posts kind and informative. That doesn't mean never being blunt, or not using certain words, or not calling it like it is. It simply means not using ad hominem attacks, attacking people's personality, ridiculing their beliefs, culture, or religion, bringing up things that have nothing to do with the debate at hand, cursing, calling people stupid, calling people "brainwashed" or "hypocrites" or "sheep", focusing on their looks, being ableist, fatphobic, racist, sexist, xenophobic, anti-neurodivergent, etc. Not only is none of that necessary to help the animals, I think it actively makes our job harder and hurts the movement overall. Shame and guilt doesn't work. Negative reinforcement works much less effectively than positive reinforcement. Being cruel to others makes people hate us as a group. Of course that's not fair or justified or right, but it's the way it is. Humans always lump people into categories and then make assumptions based on them. That's how our brains work, sadly. We're all biased. We all experience some cognitive dissonance sometimes. We all judge ourselves and others. But we can work to change that and it starts with you every time you're kind instead of cruel.

Instead of being cruel towards humans and asking them to be kind to animals, we should be kind to humans and ask them to extend that kindness to animals.

You may say "that's some kumbaya bullshit, the real world doesn't work like that" but for starters, that sounds a lot like the argument:

"the world isn't fair, get used to it" that we hear about capitalism. We can choose to change the world to make it fair, or hurt each other because we assume it never can be. The world is cruel because we are all cruel, to some extent. (Yes, some are crueler than others and use their power over others to do cruel things. Yes, some people cause much more harm than others.) We can work to change that to make it kind, instead of assuming it always will be unkind.

And secondly, I believe in being kind to everyone because to me, it's the right thing to do. BUT I also believe it is the most effective praxis when trying to change minds. It's not just about what makes me feel good as some silly hippy or whatever you want to say. No, it's also what I truly believe we need. Based on all the evidence I have absorbed over the years, this is the radical paradigm shift I think we need. (I could be wrong, I'm always learning and my mind is open to being changed.) Our world is based on cruelty. Don't you want to oppose that? And don't you want to "be the change you wish to see"? Doesn't it start with you? If you don't believe the fallacy that "one person can't change anything" then aren't you one person who can change things? We can't control other people. We can't force them to have compassion for others. But we can have compassion ourselves. Isn't that what personal responsibility is about? How do you want to make others feel? What do you want to create in the world? What do you want to add to the human story? You get to decide everyday.

#kind #kindness #compassion #sources #just my thoughts #my thoughts

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argumentativeessayabout232 · 4 years

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j0sgomez-blog · 5 years

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Dawn at Quiet Lake in Idaho’s Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness, created in 2015.

By Michael Lanza

How’s it feel to be a conservationist in America today? Does it feel like people who want the government to protect the environment—which is a large majority of Americans—suddenly find themselves losing a war that it seemed we had already won?

These are strange and frustrating times for conservation. We have to wonder: How could so many Americans believe that climate science is bogus—or even a “hoax,” as a certain world leader calls it? How could so many of our countrymen and women applaud as the current White House takes an axe to the agency created four decades ago to protect the very environment we live in? Or buy into the corrupt notion that ceding control of our prized public lands to private interests could, in any way, be in our public interest?

And where do we go from here?

Somewhere along the line, logic got turned on its head. We need to stand it upright again—and we can.

The Bears Ears buttes in Bears Ears National Monument, which President Trump shrank by 85 percent.

The good news is that while we are, in many ways, mired in a war for the future not only of conservation but for the nation’s values—not to mention human civilization—environmentalists do have a much larger army than the opposition. Gallup reported in March 2018 that “62 percent of Americans say government is doing too little on the environment,” the highest that number has been since 2006.

The same poll found overwhelming majorities want more public investment in renewable energy, higher pollution and auto-emissions standards, and stronger enforcement of environmental regulations. Seven in 10 Americans believe climate change is happening and six in 10 want the government to do something about it.

Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside, which has made several top outdoors blog lists. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Subscribe now to get full access to all of my blog’s stories. Click here to learn how I can help you plan your next trip. Please follow my adventures on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

But the anti-environmental movement is very well funded—with the climate-change misinformation campaign led by the fossil-fuel industry and related special interests—and has massed its troops in elected positions from Congress to state capitols and local offices.

They are dismantling the protections created over decades to ensure that Americans can breathe clean air and drink clean water, and protect endangered species. They are working to undermine the international effort to combat climate change. They are abetted in their self-serving scheme by a president who embraces no ideology beyond self-aggrandizement, and who has mastered the dark art of sowing division and discord through stoking the fires of fear and hate—all in the service of increasing his own profit and power. And he is enabled by a congressional majority willing to deploy un-American tactics to achieve their goals, like actively preventing some citizens from voting, and extreme gerrymandering of districts so that politicians get to select their voters rather than the other way around.

Lower Yellowstone Falls in the world’s first national park, Yellowstone.

Among many moves to roll back progress on climate change, the Trump administration has taken steps to allow increased emissions of methane—one of the most powerful greenhouse gases—to weaken car pollution rules, and to let states set their own rules on coal emissions (or no rules at all). The administration hires ex-lawyers and lobbyists for polluting industries to regulate those industries—the proverbial fox guarding the henhouse. Trump’s Interior Department under Director Ryan Zinke has rescinded an Obama-era policy requiring that national parks management be based in science.

This NY Times story lists 76 environmental rules Trump is throwing out, and concludes: “All told, the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks could lead to at least 80,000 extra deaths per decade and cause respiratory problems for more than one million people.” That story goes on to quote a Harvard expert saying that number is likely to be “a major underestimate of the global public health impact.”

This is what an all-out war on the environment looks like. It’s enough to really piss you off, right?

Climate change constitutes, literally and figuratively, a steadily rising tide that threatens to overwhelm civilization. The science not only continues to affirm this reality, it strongly suggests that we are on a faster trajectory toward increasingly severe consequences than previously thought.

Read about how climate change is affecting our national parks in my book Before They’re Gone—A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks.

Backpackers hiking through a burned forest in Glacier National Park. Climate change has made wildfires larger and more numerous.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned recently that we have until 2030 to slash carbon emissions by 45 percent, and until 2050 to eliminate all carbon emissions. Otherwise, we condemn our children, grandchildren, and generations for centuries to life on a planet undergoing catastrophic climate change.

Many of us followed a long path through the outdoors that led us into conservation. We are motivated by a love of hiking, climbing, fishing, backpacking, skiing, paddling, hunting, birding, and other pastimes that have given us some of the most inspirational and joyful moments in our lives. Pull back the covers on the phrase “conservation movement” and you simply find people who share simple, common values: protecting places in nature that give us a rejuvenating connection to our humanity, and maintaining a world environment in which humans can thrive and live healthy lives.

History will recall this era as a dark time when some leaders showed a ruthless and shameless willingness to destroy the planetary environment that sustains life as humans have always known it.

But we have the opportunity to ultimately record this period as the time that the conservation movement became reinvigorated and rose to the challenges we face today. Many organizations and individuals are engaged and committed to this mission. The technology exists to accomplish this; we need only the political will, and that begins with each of us.

Here are some ideas for getting back on the right track.

The Big Outside helps you find the best adventures. Subscribe now and get full access to all stories!

Backpackers on Clouds Rest in Yosemite National Park.

No. 1 Vote in Every Election

Voting represents the bare minimum effort we are all asked to make as citizens of what has been and could still be—if we’re ready to save it—the nation that leads the free world.

Voting is not a big ask. It’s not a heavy lift. In fact, we should all participate in the democratic process more deeply than merely voting.

The Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park.

We should certainly seek to inform ourselves thoroughly through a variety of legitimate sources in the media and elsewhere. Knowledge and accurate information offer the best protection against the demagogues, charlatans, and liars who employ today’s vast array of communication tools to foment the fear, intolerance, and hate that seem to motivate so many voters now. We don’t need impenetrable walls along our borders—we need virtual windows onto our entire world, through which we can see everything more clearly.

Just as we have a choice in how we drive a vehicle—we can drive it intelligently and with care and caution, or steer it over a cliff—we can use the infinite resources available at our fingertips today to make ourselves better-informed citizens, rather than pawns of the purveyors of misinformation.

But voting is step one on the stairway of democracy. And yet, millions of Americans do not vote—they do not contribute the bare minimum effort as a member of a democracy. Some, including young people and populations already marginalized, only vote occasionally, typically in presidential elections, skipping mid-terms that determine the crucial makeup of Congress and key state offices.

Think of it this way: There are 10 houses on your street, but only the owners of six of them make all the rules for the neighborhood, including how much you each pay to live there (and they charge others more than they charge themselves), because the owners of four houses don’t vote.

Sound like a good system?

If not, then get out and vote and urge everyone you know to do the same—especially anyone who’s never voted or does rarely, including young people. Tell anyone who complains about the cynicism in politics that they have the power to do something about it, beginning with their vote. If everyone eligible voter in America cast a ballot in every election, we’d be well on our way to having a functional democracy.

Plan your next backpacking adventure in Yosemite, Grand Teton and other parks using my expert e-guides.

Sahale Glacier Camp in North Cascades National Park, one of my 25 favorite backcountry campsites.

No. 2 Choose to Live More Sustainably

Yes, it sometimes seems the solutions to climate change and other environmental problems lie far beyond our reach as individuals. But we can all do more to reduce personal waste and consumption, and that exerts a positive collective impact.

We can make choices about lifestyle and family and work circumstances that affect our waste and consumption. A few examples of many possible steps include reducing car trips and driving an economical vehicle, being more careful about electricity and water use, buying food grown and produced as close to your home as possible and planting a vegetable garden, recycling and reusing, and composting home organic waste. Larger steps like improving house insulation and converting to solar create expense up front but pay off over the long term.

The Center for Biological Diversity lists these 12 ways to live more sustainably, but you can easily find much more information on that subject. Some actions are big and costly, others have long-term, significant impacts and save you money.

But the best news about living more sustainably? Instead of making you pissed off, it can make you happier and healthier and improve your life. When I gave my wife a cruiser bicycle for Christmas a few years ago, her attitude toward biking rather than driving local trips swung 180 degrees. Now we frequently ride into town, which creates time together that’s far more enjoyable than driving in traffic and searching for parking—not to mention far better for our community.

Backpackers on the Piegan Pass Trail in Glacier National Park.

No. 3 Get Off Your Butt

Actions speak louder than bitching on Facebook. If you’re truly pissed off, do something.

Volunteer for and donate to political candidates and campaigns you like and respect, who you believe can help our world—or your little part of it—rather than harm it. Or even run for office and be an agent for change.

Find organizations that do work you support and offer them your time and resources. Join a board; many groups are desperate for intelligent, committed volunteers who bring a variety of expertise to the table. I’m no genius, but for years I’ve served on volunteer boards and committees working on protecting and managing conservation and recreation lands, improving public education (smarter kids make smarter voters and citizens), and electing pro-conservation politicians. (I’m on the board of Conservation Voters for Idaho, which has resounding success electing green candidates in a very red state and deserves your support.)

Step up. You might be surprised at how many people would love to have whatever you can give.

Find your next adventure in your Inbox. Sign up for my FREE email newsletter now.

Backpackers in Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which Trump cut in half.

No. 4 Do What Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha Would Do

Religious leaders are increasingly joining the rising chorus of people who believe the world’s governments have a moral duty to protect the environment and take aggressive action to limit the severity of climate change.

In September 2017, Pope Francis and Orthodox Christian leader Patriarch Bartholomew called for a collective response from world leaders to climate change, saying the planet was deteriorating and vulnerable people were the first to be affected. Other religious organizations are investing directly in projects that protect the planet, such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and forest protection.

As well they should. Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?” The Prophet Muhammad said, “Conduct yourself in this world as if you are here to stay forever.” The Buddha said, “I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.”

Planning your next big adventure? See “America’s Top 10 Best Backpacking Trips” and “The 20 Best National Park Dayhikes.”

Bighorn sheep in Glacier. Click photo for 10 Tips for Getting a Hard-to-Get National Park Backcountry Permit.

No. 5 Please, Don’t Give Up or Give In

It’s easy to feel defeated. It’s hard to make things better. And it’s not enough to just be pissed off. Consider how much is at stake. I’m reminded of that every day when I look at my kids.

There are many reasons to be optimistic for our future. I’m encouraged by the efforts of politicians at the state and local levels and businesses committed to a sensible future in an economy built upon clean energy—the only future. California has committed to meeting 100 percent of its energy needs by 2045. Thousands of cities, regional governments, investors, and corporations have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint, motivated in large part by Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the international Paris climate change agreement.

I am encouraged by the energy, intelligence, and determination of today’s young people. They don’t wallow in fear and despair. They aren’t mourning the planet’s future and lamenting that climate change seems so gigantic and daunting a problem that any action feels futile. They are acting. They are educating themselves. They are demanding leadership.

Larch trees reflected in Rainbow Lake, in Washington’s North Cascades.

But those of us in the generations now running the show—who are responsible for much of this problem—have to hand them the tools to help them complete the most important work humanity has ever faced. We have to give them a fighting chance.

If we fail to right our ship, then we will deserve it when today’s children look at us in the fast-approaching future, as the oceans drown cities and starvation and political instability spawn refugee waves unlike anything we’ve ever seen in history, and ask, “What were you thinking?”

I’m reminded of three quotes that speak to the time we live in now. The first has been described as an Aboriginal proverb but also attributed to various sources: “We do not inherit the planet from our ancestors, we borrow it from our grandchildren.”

The second is a quote that has been attributed to the Irish philosopher, statesman, and parliamentarian Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Finally, we might all find inspiration in the words written by a young girl while she suffered through the worst evil the world has ever known. Anne Frank famously wrote: “It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”

We have no other choice. We cannot fail, because failure now means giving up on hope.

Tell me what you think.

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Read about one great American adventure that’s possible today because of the conservation movement in my story “Why Conservation Matters: Rafting the Green River’s Gates of Lodore.”

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mlblosso-blog · 5 years

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Analytical Reflection

As we look throughout history and examine the themes and patterns of people’s reactions to new technology, as well as looking at the current response people give to our modern world, it can be easy to predict future techno-panics. While different technology is discovered and evolved, the pros and cons are brought forward about the product and its contribution to the well-being of society. As the study of technology and its capabilities are brought forward, it can be clear that there are connections and themes between many different types of technology.

Phase I: Techno-Panic Throughout History

A techno-panic is the mass fear of certain technology and its effect on society. As we read about in class, some of the devices that people were historically afraid of look silly when we see how they assist us today. However, as new technology arises, often spectators focus on the negative aspects of new technology rather than the things it could contribute. As it says in “Technopanic Throughout History #1”, there are different things that can drive these techno-panics. This can include them remembering how things were in the past, seeing bad reviews of the product, the role of the media exaggerating scenarios, and the list goes on. Both in ““Technopanic Throughout History #2” and the articles we talked about in class, some of Kurzweil predictions have been proven to be true as time has gone on. Looking at the predictions for the future, some feel that some of the changes are very unnerving. Thinking of all the things that must happen sequentially to lead up to some of those predictions makes people not want to see such changes.

Having technology at our fingertips brings forth a whole new generation of children. Often, it can be controversial as to whether children being immersed in so much technology at such a young age is good or bad. Because this is such a new idea, and no other generation has been brought up with so much technological capability at such easy accessibility, there can be a fear of how this generation turn out when they are able to start contributing to society. Often an argument is that children are losing their work ethic due to many things being done by technology. How this could affect the future workforce will bring forward a whole new skill set in people but could come with other skills lacking.

Phase II: The Future of the Body

With new technology comes new capabilities for what the medical field can accomplish and what help they are able to help their patients with. As the methods of medicine are changing from what they have been historically, this can create a techno-panic. For example, as it says in “The Future of the Body #1”, there is the potential of having a chip installed in humans that contains much of their personal information, including their medical records, that can be used to aid the reduction of online medical files. This could also help to allow medical personnel to access medical files at a much quicker rate in the case of an emergency. However, if this technology becomes a normality, those who do not want to participate with the installation of the chip in their body would almost be forced to due to the way of life.

It was both talked about in class and in both “The Future of the Body #4” and “The Future of the Body #2”, prosthetic limbs are becoming more and more advanced in their capabilities. I remember there was a year of the Olympics where there was the controversy of letting one of the racers run due to her prosthetic leg. They were unsure if her prosthetic gave her an unfair advantage to the rest of the runners. As prosthetic limb abilities heighten, they are able to be controlled by different muscles in the body. This could be related to the phase on cyborgs that was discussed later in the year as humans are being able to control technology with their own movements. Some fear that eventually technology and humans will become one being and will be reliant on each other equally. However, with the case of prosthetic limbs, I see that the patient needs some sort of assistance due to their lack of a limb, and them having the ability to control their own movement allows for them to feel like they have the same capabilities as someone who has all their limbs. It gives hope to those who do not have a limb.

Phase III: Intelligent Systems

Arguably the most controversial subject we covered this semester, intelligent systems covers a wide range of topics. One of the devices that are in the spotlight is Sophia the robot. Found in “Intelligent Systems #1”, Sophia can make facial expressions and speak automated messages in response to what you say to her. She is able to hear and retain information, and as she hears more, she “learns” more information. One of the misconceptions about Sophia and artificial intelligence as a whole is that she is able to think for herself and make decisions based on her own understanding. This is untrue as Sophia only learns new information by hearing what others say first. Due to this misconception, many believe that someday robots like Sophia will become much smarter than humans, take over the world and turn against humanity; however, this fantasy is highly unlikely. As it is alluded to in the video of “Intelligent Systems #1”, the narrator states that Sophia can read other people’s feelings and emotions. This statement is partially true due to Sophia’s ability to recognize facial expressions because of some of her pre-set knowledge. However, this idea makes people believe that Sophia is able to read people’s mind and thoughts which creates a techno-panic amongst the public. As the artificial intelligence company that created Sophia, Hanson Robotics, aims to make Sophia’s abilities sound as amazing as they can, some of her capabilities tend to be exaggerated and misunderstood. This is an example where misinformation in the media can affect people’s ideas and thoughts on a topic.

The next intelligent system discussed is self-driving cars. This system brings up a moral dilemma and scenario of whether the driverless car should save the passengers of the vehicle or five pedestrians crossing the road in front of the car if that event were to take place. Because there is not necessarily a specific right answer to this question, and as it states in article “Intelligent Systems #2”, there has been an incident where a driverless Uber vehicle hit and killed a bicyclist, it is understandable that there could be some fears and moral struggles with this technology. Some articles that we read in class even went as far as to say that we should be focusing on improving public transportation and working on making that more efficient rather than worrying about creating driverless vehicles. However, is this idea an issue of people living in the past and not wanting to move on, or is it a reasonable idea? I feel that we will slowly move out of public transportation in the future. Having a horse with a buggy was the most innovative transportation at one time, but if we imagine someone driving their horse and buggy in the city today, we would laugh and think that idea is absurd. When automobiles first were driven on the roads, many people feared the way they would affect horses riding on the road. This relates to the way I predict the effect driverless vehicles will have on public transportation.

Phase IV: Making and Things

The technology of 3D printing allows for things to be made precisely at a much cheaper cost due to the material used for the printing. As it was brought up in class and in the article “Making and Things #1”, the cheaper cost of prosthetics and other medical devices that 3D printing provides allows a wider range of patients to be able to afford such assistance. Many times, as it shows in the article “Making and Things #4” those in war or in other countries are two common recipients of this help. Clearly, the material of plastic would be much cheaper than the standard material used for making prosthetics. Printing in 3D also gives the opportunity to have customized prosthetics, bones, hearing aids, and the like to serve each patient with the exact help they need at a cost they can afford.

The ability to 3D print is also a benefit to manufacturers as they are able to make their products at a much faster rate and have lower expenses. It also creates the ability for anyone with a 3D printer to created anything they want right at their home. This can be related to having a cell phone at your fingertips with internet access. As I mentioned earlier, some people say that children are losing their creative abilities, but this technology could turn this idea around. More innovation could happen right in people’s homes and new technology and inventions would continue to be created.

Phase V: Cyborgs and Bioart

As I mentioned earlier, the dependence of technology on humans and humans on technology is becoming more popular as more technology is invented. Some predict and are experimenting with the idea of future generations having an ordinary central nervous system, but having that be attached to a technological system. Some prosthetic limbs that are connected to nerves and muscles could even be viewed as the start to cyborgs. For another example, as mentioned in source “Cyborgs and Bioart #1”, some scientists have already created a cockroach cyborg where they have connected a battery pack to the antenna of the cockroach to control when it went in and out. As this technology progresses, people start to fear that this will become a normality and they will be required to become a cyborg to be a part of society. However, humans are the very people creating such technology. The techno-panic of robots taking over the world can be related in the way that robots will be taking over humans, which some may then fear will take over the world.

The science of evolution describes this technology of cyborgs as the next evolution. To stay relevant in the world, humans will need to get “updates” for their survival. This is all a prediction and a fantasy, but it can be seen how this scenario could create techno-panic. However, the medical field is using a type of cyborg for good. In source “Cyborgs and Bioart #3”, a video shows how a man is now able to perform tasks almost as normal due to his muscles controlling his prosthetic arm. It can be seen in this cyborg that rather than the technology controlling him and his movement, he is controlling it. This can be a misconception that people may have about cyborgs that causes them to formulate so many fantasies about the future of cyborgs. Often, due to the way the media portrays certain cyborgs, people may feel that technology is controlling humans when that is not the case.

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cryptswahili · 5 years

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Why Cities And Citizens Using Emerging Technologies Will Be Better Equipped For The Future

I was at a conference recently, and I ended up in a conversation with someone from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

As we were talking, he shared his view that the original goal of the internet was to help people, but in his mind, it’s clear the technology has done just as much harm as good.

I think that’s partly because people now have all the power of the internet at their fingertips, but there haven’t been many accountability measures put in place. The internet has freed people to do some wonderful things, but it can just as easily be used to anonymously tear someone down or spread misinformation.

There are still unrealized dreams out there about the possibilities of technology to work for change and a more responsible future.

And that notion of accountability is why blockchain has the potential to accomplish what the internet couldn’t.

The cities and societies that use the blockchain to push for progress and incentivize people to act in healthy and productive ways will be the ones who do finally realize those goals.

Here’s why it matters for all of us:

Technology can improve trust — if used correctly.

Transparency is a complicated topic.

If an organization or individual is up to no good, they likely want as little transparency as possible. But just because someone wants privacy, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing something nefarious.

Still, many organizations can, and do, thrive while staying open about their processes and actions.

Blockchain has the capacity to help because it offers a way for governments and companies to offer more transparency in their dealings, their supply chains, and the products and services they offer. That’s because the cornerstone of blockchain technology is its trusted and secure automated transacting and record keeping.

Technology like zero-knowledge proofs allows companies and governments to prove they’re respecting human rights, providing the aid they say they are, or decreasing pollution — without giving up other sensitive data.

This capability can make transparency and trust the norm in our society. Because if no one’s being transparent, then no one will be held accountable.

New technologies can help with major global challenges.

Blockchain has plenty of applications for issues that we’re currently facing — like the recent humanitarian crisis caused by the influx of refugees to Europe.

Proving your identity and getting approved for entry into another country is an arduous process, and not everyone applying even has the proper documentation in the first place.

I mean, it’s not even easy in America. Just to renew my license, I had to go to my parent’s house, crawl into the attic, and pull my physical Social Security card from a lockbox. While I know a piece of paper or physical object works best because it’s unhackable, it seems pretty ridiculous when all of our identification numbers are floating around online.

If we could give people a digital identity to build credit and move across borders in a secure and simple manner, it would go a long way towards reducing stress for both refugees and the countries taking them in.

This isn’t just speculation, either. Bitnation has already created a voluntary, borderless blockchain jurisdiction with consulates in over 30 countries. It’s a way to provide people with self-sovereign identities. Those who don’t have a traditional place in the world can gain the ability to get marriage certificates, birth certificates, refugee emergency IDs, and all the other trappings of citizenship.

For someone who’s been forced from their home, this is a real-world application of technology that can actually make a difference in their life.

Use of technologies allows people to question how their city or country is advancing.

Data transparency and ownership may be the destination, but the road there isn’t an easy one.

There are plenty of countries that don’t allow their citizens full access to the internet or other emerging technologies because they fear what that level of transparency may lead to. And just because you have access to something doesn’t mean you can use it. No one is solving world hunger by handing out crypto wallets in third-world countries.

There are plenty of great opportunities for blockchain and other emerging technologies to make the world a better place, but realistically, it’s up to people to choose that path.

People often talk about all the amazing things this technology can do, but there has to be political will and societal pressure to make those changes. In many cases, it’s not the technology we’re lacking, it’s the will to act.

People have to put pressure on their local and national governments to become involved in using these technologies in ways that improve our lives. It’s the only way to actually realize the promise of blockchain, the internet, or any other transformative tech.

Thanks for reading!

Our team at the Blockchain Art Collective wants to make sure art world changemakers and innovators — whether individuals or institutions — are having an impact on this growing ecosystem.

Sound like you? Fill out the form to apply to the Blockchain Art Collective Working Group.

Why Cities And Citizens Using Emerging Technologies Will Be Better Equipped For The Future was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

[Telegram Channel | Original Article ]

#cryptocurrency

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ashtredrainveloso · 4 years

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"Understanding the Relevance of Information Literacy in Mids of Social Era"

There was a time that the books used to be the primary source of information, we used to go to the library to seek information that we needed and it really takes time to us to find the information that we want but today we find ourselves bombarded with the overhelming amount of information and it comes from variety of forms and we can accessed in different ways. Today there is no limiting of getting information that we needed. We live a world where information is always at our fingertips and we can easily connect to our family, friends, shop online and we can share our experiences everyday with others through social media. We can also learn the current events or what is happening in our society or in the world. As a result, we can also misled and misinformed. That's why we need to have a skill that will allow us to use the information effectively and what we need is information literacy.

The importance of information literacy in this mids of social era is very dominant because the amount of source or information we see online are numerous and still being added every single day. The fact that you use search tools like google throughout your day is evidence of the importance. In this generation, mass media has become a source with easy accessibility to all sorts of information especially to students or teenagers. Having the knowledge of information literacy helps us to become a critical thinker to analyze and evalute everything that we see online. It also gives us the freedom to use what we know and share the information if it is beneficial to everybody. It empowers everyone to be an independent and reponsible individual to learn by themselves and to encourage everyone for careful evaluation to avoid being mislead and innacuracy judgements. It also gives us life long learning such being a wise individual in every decision we make.

Veloso, Ashtred Rain E.

Mabalacad, Beverly S.

#BlogNumber3

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beverlymabalacad · 4 years

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“Understanding the Relevance of Information Literacy in the Midst of Social Era”

#Blogno.3

Mabalacad, Beverly S.

Veloso, Ashtred Rain

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lets-media · 4 years

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Reflective Blog - Media Convergence

The merging of different types of technology such as a camera, GPS, television, in a cellphone with access to internet has definitely brought ease to my consumption of media. Being able to find everything I need within one device has made me very dependent on it. I am able to carry an entire library in my back pocket and have access to it anytime over the internet. I must say, it is quite fascinating to think about. Smartphone owners have access to a plethora of information that has not historically existed. I am a voracious reader, researcher, and an avid debater. If someone brings up a topic that I am unfamiliar with, I quickly use my phone to read up on it in order to further my knowledge. On my daily commute to work, I read ebooks on my phone. When I am driving, I either listen to music or podcasts with the help of my phone. When I cook, I turn to following a step by step Youtube video on new recipes. My smartphone allows me to efficiently execute all my daily tasks while maintaining contact with friends and family through text, sharing funny posts on Instagram, and placing phone calls to family members, friends, or colleagues. If I had to carry multiple devices in order to do all of the above, I would probably need to carry several bags with me wherever I went but media convergence has provided me with the opportunity to experience efficiency. My productivity has been augmented exponentially which allows me to fit in more tasks to complete within my day.

Gasher, M., Skinner, D., & Lorimer, R. (2016). Defining the field. In Mass communication in Canada (8th ed.) (pp. 2–31). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

*Assignment #4 - Reflective Blog*

Did you leave something out?

When I originally looked at media convergence I focused on how different types of tools can be incorporated in one device but I did not specify the challenges that may come along with the advantages. Convenient access to the internet creates more opportunities for inaccurate or misleading information to travel. Furthermore, media circulation becomes harder to track and regulate due to the vast amount of information distributed through the internet. The opportunity cost of easy access to information through the internet is tremendous, ranging from privacy infringement to outright misinformation campaigns that can change the political environment of countries. Therefore, consumers need to understand that although smartphones and other electronic devices can improve their quality of life and productivity, these devices also have indirect potential for causing harm to the consumers or society in general. These downsides, although not advertised by the companies, are being increasingly covered in the news and are helping consumers change their media consumption accordingly (Shade and Lithgow, 2014, p.175-176).

How has your thought process changed?

I was feeling excited and grateful for having wide ranging access to information/media at my fingertips but once I became more educated on the topic I came to realize that a lot of the material I am exposed to is as a result of algorithms that present me that information as a result of my previous search trends. For example, when I am using Instagram, Facebook, or any other forms of “free” social media, I noticed that their ads are tailored to target me and they entice me to purchase a certain product or service. This makes me feel like my privacy is being sold in return for a “free” social media service and I do not feel comfortable thinking about that reality (Steeves, 2014, p.314). Now that I am aware of my search history being tracked for commercial purposes, it has changed my perspective as I now understand that I am being used by these apps to increase the revenue of a company that I am not consciously willing to deal with. I went from feeling fortunate for having wide ranging access to information in my back pocket to realizing that I practically have someone following me around at all times and watching my every move.

Do you understand something in a deeper way?

In addition to my thought process shifting direction, I have come to understand in more depth that privacy regulation is not something that is implemented with ease. The European council has a much more formalized process for dealing with this concept compared to Canada as they adopt fair information practices. Although, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Acts (PIPEDA) was established to facilitate the circulation and exchange of information, it illustrates that the government in developed countries do not focus heavily on providing citizens with privacy protection. This is partly due to aggressive lobbying by media giants to gain political influence and prevent strict regulation from impacting their extremely profitable business model. The change towards increased privacy protection is a slow process and news organizations are doing a good job of highlighting the pitfalls in social media platforms (Steeves, 2014, p.315-316).

How do the concepts from the readings help expand or bring a more complex understanding to your post?

In the article “The Information - How the Internet Gets Inside Us” by Adam Gopnik, the author broke down certain types of internet users; the Never-Betters, the Better-Nevers, and the Ever-Wasers.

The Never-Betters believe that the internet created a new utopia

The Better-Nevers think that internet should not have been created in the first place

The Ever-Wasers view the internet as a moment of modernization which is thrilling to them

The author mentioned a phrase that really stuck with me, “Google is the world’s Thurber wife.” People are being replaced by machines and although that may seem exciting to the Ever-Wasers, it may not have the best impact on the community in general. For example, a study in the article mentions how college students show a significant decline in empathy as they lack the ability to try and understand others feelings. Having access to such smart devices originally seemed like a step in the right direction but I am beginning to feel much more cautious rather than excited about using them. I guess I could categorize myself as a Better-Never. (Gopnik, 2011).

Work Cited

Gopnik, A. (2011). How the Internet Gets Inside Us. [online] The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14/the-information [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].

Savage, P. (2014). “Audiences are Key,"Mediascapes: New Patterns in Canadian Communication. 4th ed. [ebook] United States of America: Nelson Education Ltd., pp.127-149. Available at: https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780176727413/cfi/146!/4/2@100:0.00 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].

Shade, L and Lithgow M. (2014). “Media Ownership, Public Participation, and Democracy in the Canadian Mediascape,” Mediascapes: New Patterns in Canadian Communication,. 4th ed. [ebook] United States of America: Nelson Education Ltd., pp.174–203. Available at: https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780176727413/cfi/3!/4/[email protected]:0.00 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].

Steeves, V. (2014). "Privacy in a Networked Environment,” Mediascapes: New Patterns in Canadian Communication,. 4th ed. [ebook] United States of America: Nelson Education Ltd., pp.304 - 320. Available at: https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780176727413/cfi/3!/4/[email protected]:0.00 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2019].

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we-johnnygonzalez-blog · 5 years

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What the Local Customer Service Ecosystem Looks Like in 2019

Posted by MiriamEllis

Everything your brand does in the new year should support just one goal: better local customer service.

Does this sound too simple? Doesn’t marketing brim with a thousand different tasks? Of course — but if the goal of each initiative isn’t to serve the customer better, it’s time for a change of business heart. By putting customers, and their problems, at the absolute center of your brand’s strategy, your enterprise will continuously return to this heart of the matter, this heart of commerce.

What is local customer service in 2019?

It’s so much more than the face-to-face interactions of one staffer with one shopper. Rather, it’s a commitment to becoming an always-on resource that is accessible to people whenever, wherever and however they need it. A Google rep was recently quoted as saying that 46% of searches have a local intent. Mobile search, combined with desktop and various forms of ambient search, have established the local web as man’s other best friend, the constant companion that’s ever ready to serve.

Let’s position your brand to become that faithful helper by establishing the local customer service ecosystem:

Your Key to the Local Customer Service Ecosystem

At the heart sits the local customer, who wants to know:

Who can help them, who likes or dislikes a business, who’s behind a brand, who’s the best, cheapest, fastest, closest, etc.

What the answer is to their question, what product/service solves their problems, what businesses are nearby, what it’s like there, what policies protect them, what’s the phone number, the website URL, the email address, etc.

Where a business is located, where to find parking, where something is manufactured or grown, etc.

When a business is open, when sales or events are, when busiest times are, when to purchase specific products/services or book an appointment, etc.

Why a business is the best choice based on specific factors, why a business was founded, why people like/dislike a business, etc.

How to get to the business by car/bike/on foot, how to learn/do/buy something, how to contact the right person or department, how to make a complaint or leave feedback, how the business supports the community, etc.

Your always-on customer service solves all of these problems with a combination of all of the following:

In-store

Good customer service looks like:

A publicly accessible brand policy that protects the rights and defends the dignity of both employees and consumers.

Well-trained phone staff with good language skills, equipped to answer FAQs and escalate problems they can’t solve. Sufficient staff to minimize hold-times.

Well-trained consumer-facing staff, well-versed in policy, products and services. Sufficient staff to be easily-accessible by customers.

In-store signage (including after-hours messaging) that guides consumers towards voicing complaints in person, reducing negative reviews.

In-store signage/messaging that promotes aspects of the business that are most beneficial to the community. (philanthropy, environmental stewardship, etc.) to promote loyalty and word-of-mouth.

Cleanliness, orderliness and fast resolution of broken fixtures and related issues.

Equal access to all facilities with an emphasis on maximum consumer comfort and convenience.

Support of payment forms most popular with local customers (cash, check, digital, etc.), security of payment processes, and minimization of billing mistakes/hassles.

Correctly posted, consistent hours of operation, reducing inconvenience. Clear messaging regarding special hours/closures.

A brand culture that rewards employees who wisely use their own initiative to solve customers’ problems.

Website

Good customer service looks like:

Content that solves people’s problems as conveniently and thoroughly as possible in language that they speak. Everything you publish (home, about, contact, local landing pages, etc.) should pass the test of consumer usefulness.

Equal access to content, regardless of device.

Easily accessible contact information, including name, address, phone number, fax, email, text, driving directions, maps and hours of operation.

Signals of trustworthiness, such as reviews, licenses, accreditations, affiliations, and basic website security.

Signals of benefit, including community involvement, philanthropy, environmental protections, etc.

Click-to-call phone numbers.

Clear policies that outline the rights of the consumer and the brand.

Organic SERPs

Good customer service looks like:

Management of the first few pages of the organic SERPs to ensure that basic information on them is accurate. This includes structured citations on local business directories, unstructured citations on blog posts, news sites, top 10 lists, review sites, etc. It can also include featured snippets.

Management also includes monitoring of the SERPs for highly-ranked content that cites problems others are having with the brand. If these problems can be addressed and resolved, the next step is outreach to the publisher to demonstrate that the problem has been addressed.

Good customer service looks like:

Accessible email addresses for customers seeking support and fast responses to queries.

Opt-in email marketing in the form of newsletters and special offers.

Reviews

Good customer service looks like:

Accuracy of basic business information on major review platforms.

Professional and fast responses to both positive and negative reviews, with the core goal of helping and retaining customers by acknowledging their voices and solving their problems.

Sentiment analysis of reviews by location to identify emerging problems at specific branches for troubleshooting and resolution.

Monitoring of reviews for spam and reporting it where possible.

Avoidance of any form of review spam on the part of the brand.

Where allowed, guiding valued customers to leave reviews to let the greater community know about the existence and quality of your brand.

Links

Good customer service looks like:

Linking out to third-party resources of genuine use to customers.

Pursuit of inbound links from relevant sites that expand customers’ picture of what’s available in the place they live, enriching their experience.

Tech

Good customer service looks like:

Website usability and accessibility for users of all abilities and on all browsers and devices (ADA compliance, mobile-friendliness, load speed, architecture, etc.)

Apps, tools and widgets that improve customers’ experience.

Brand accessibility on social platforms most favored by customers.

Analytics that provide insight without trespassing on customers’ comfort or right to privacy.

Social

Good customer service looks like:

Brand accessibility on social platforms most favored by customers.

Social monitoring of the brand name to identify and resolve complaints, as well as to acknowledge praise.

Participation for the sake of community involvement as opposed to exploitation. Sharing instead of selling.

Advocacy for social platforms to improve their standards of transparency and their commitment to protections for consumers and brands.

Google My Business

Good customer service looks like:

Embrace of all elements of Google’s local features (Google My Business listings, Knowledge Panels, Maps, etc.) that create convenience and accessibility for consumers.

Ongoing monitoring for accuracy of basic information.

Brand avoidance of spam, and also, reporting of spam to protect consumers.

Advocacy for Google to improve its standards as a source of community information, including accountability for misinformation on their platform, and basic protections for both brands and consumers.

Customers’ Problems are Yours to Solve

“$41 billion is lost each year by US companies following a bad customer experience.” - New Voice Media

When customers don’t know where something is, how something works, when they can do something, who or what can help them, or why they should choose one option over another, your brand can recognize that they are having a problem. It could be as small a problem as where to buy a gift or as large a problem as seeking legal assistance after their home has been damaged in a disaster.

With the Internet never farther away than fingertips or voices, people have become habituated to turning to it with most of their problems, hour by hour, year by year. Recognition of quests for help may have been simpler just a few decades ago when customers were limited to writing letters, picking up phones, or walking into stores to say, “I have a need.” Now, competitive local enterprises have to expand their view to include customer problems that play out all over the web with new expectations of immediacy.

Unfortunately, brands are struggling with this, and we can sum up common barriers to modern customer service in 3 ways:

1) Brand Self-Absorption

youtube

“I’ve gotta have my Pops,” frets a boy in an extreme (and, frankly, off-putting) example in which people behave as though addicted to products. TV ads are rife with the wishfulness of marketers pretending that consumers sing and dance at the mere idea of possessing cars, soda, and soap. Meanwhile, real people stand at a distance watching the song and dance, perhaps amused sometimes, but aware that what’s on-screen isn’t them.

“We’re awesome,” reads too much content on the web, with a brand-centric, self-congratulatory focus. At the other end of the spectrum, web pages sit stuffed with meaningless keywords or almost no text as all, as though there aren’t human beings trying to communicate on either side of the screen.

“Who cares?” is the message untrained employees, neglected shopping environments, and disregarded requests for assistance send when real-world locations open doors but appear to put customer experience as their lowest priority. I’ve catalogued some of my most disheartening customer service interludes and I know you’ve had them, too.

Sometimes, brands get so lost in boardrooms, it’s all they can think of to put in their million-dollar ad campaigns, forgetting that most of their customers don’t live in that world.

One of the first lightbulb moments in the history of online content marketing was the we-you shift. Instead of writing, “We’re here, isn’t that great?”, we began writing, “You’re here and your problem can be solved.” This is the simple but elegant evolution that brands, on the whole, need to experience.

2) Ethical Deficits

Sometimes, customers aren’t lost because a brand is too inwardly focused, but rather, because its executives lack the vision to sustain an ethical business model. Every brand is tasked with succeeding, but it takes civic-minded, customer-centric leadership to avoid the abuses we are seeing at the highest echelons of the business world right now. Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber, and similar majors have repeatedly failed to put people over profits, resulting in:

Scandals

Lawsuits

Fines

Boycotts

Loss of consumer trust

Employee loss of pride in company culture

At a local business level, and in a grand understatement, it isn’t good customer service when a company deceives or harms the public. Brands, large and small, want to earn the right of integration into the lives of their customers as chosen resources. Large enterprises seeking local customers need leadership that can envision itself in the setting of a single small community, where dishonest practices impact real lives and could lead to permanent closure. Loss of trust should never be an acceptable part of economies of scale.

The internet has put customers, staffers, and media all on the same channels. Ethical leadership is the key ingredient to building a sustainable business model in which all stakeholders take pride.

3) Lack of Strategy

Happily, many brands genuinely do want to face outward and possess the ethics to treat people well. They may simply lack a complete strategy for covering all the bases that make up a satisfying experience. Small local businesses may find lack of time or resources a bar to the necessary education, and structure at enterprises may make it difficult to get buy-in for the fine details of customer service initiatives. Priorities and budgets may get skewed away from customers instead of toward them.

The TL;DR of this entire post is that modern customer service means solving customers’ problems by being wherever they are when they seek solutions. Beyond that, a combination of sufficient, well-trained staff (both online and off) and the type of automation provided by tools that manage local business listings, reviews and social listening are success factors most brands can implement.

Reach Out...

We’ve talked about some negative patterns that can either distance brands from customers, or cause customers to distance themselves due to loss of trust. What’s the good news?

Every single employee of every local brand in the US already knows what good customer service feels like, because all of us are customers.

There’s no mystery or magic here. Your CEO, your devs, sales team, and everyone else in your organization already know by experience what it feels like to be treated well or poorly.

And they already know what it’s like when they see themselves reflected in a store location or on a screen.

Earlier, I cited an old TV spot in which actors were paid to act out the fantasy of a brand. Let’s reach back in time again and watch a similar-era commercial in which actors are paid to role play genuine consumer problems - in this case, a family that wants to keep in touch with a member who is away from home:

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The TV family may not look identical to yours, but their featured problem - wanting to keep close to a distant loved one - is one most people can relate to. This 5-year ad campaign won every award in sight, and the key to it is that consumers could recognize themselves on the screen and this act of recognition engaged their emotions.

Yes, a service is being sold (long distance calling), but the selling is being done by putting customers in the starring roles and solving their problems. That’s what good customer service does, and in 2019, if your brand can parlay this mindset into all of the mediums via which people now seek help, your own “reach out and touch someone” goals are well on their way to success.

Loyal Service Sparks Consumer Loyalty

“Acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to twenty times more expensive than retaining an existing one.” – Harvard Business Review

“Loyal customers are worth up to ten times as much as their first purchase.” – White House Office of Consumer Affairs

I want to close here with a note on loyalty. With a single customer representing up to 10x the value of their first purchase, earning a devoted clientele is the very best inspiration for dedication to improving customer service.

Trader Joe’s is a large chain that earns consistent mentions for its high standards of customer service. Being a local SEO, I turned to its Google reviews, looking at 5 locations in Northern California. I counted 225 instances of people exuberantly praising staff at just these 5 locations, using words like “Awesome, incredible, helpful, friendly, and fun!”. Moreover, reviewers continuously mentioned the brand as the only place they want to shop for groceries because they love it so much. It’s as close as you can get to a “gotta have my Pops” scenario, but it’s real.

How does Trader Joe’s pull this off? A study conducted by Temkin Group found that, “A customer’s emotional experience is the most significant driver of loyalty, especially when it comes to consumers recommending firms to their friends.” The cited article lists emotional connection and content, motivated employees who are empowered to go the extra mile as keys to why this chain was ranked second-highest in emotion ratings (a concept similar to Net Promoter Score). In a word, the Trader Joe’s customer service experience creates the right feelings, as this quick sentiment cloud of Google review analysis illustrates:

This brand has absolutely perfected the thrilling and lucrative art of creating loyal customers, making their review corpus read like a volume of love letters. The next move for this company - and for the local brands you market - is to “spread the love” across all points where a customer might seek to connect, both online and off.

It’s a kind of love when you ensure a customer isn’t misdirected by a wrong address on a local business listing or when you answer a negative review with the will to make things right. It’s a kind of love when a company blog is so helpful that its comments say, “You must be psychic! This is the exact problem I was trying to solve.” It’s a kind of love when a staff member is empowered to create such a good experience that a customer tells their mother, their son, their best friend to trust you brand.

Love, emotions, feelings — are we still talking about business here? Yes, because when you subtract the medium, the device, the screen, it’s two very human people on either side of every transaction.

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