These Researchers Are Trying to Build a Better Blockchain pic.twitter.com/QCf2OfwWXl
— Gabriel Mahia (@gabrielmahia) November 4, 2019
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Intro Video
Monday, November 4, 2019
These Researchers Are Trying to Build a Better Blockchain https://t.co/QCf2OfwWXl
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Where Do Hippos Wander? An Aquatic Mystery, Solved https://t.co/8q6DtjimVc
Where Do Hippos Wander? An Aquatic Mystery, Solved pic.twitter.com/8q6DtjimVc
— Gabriel Mahia (@gabrielmahia) November 4, 2019
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Today’s Cartoon: Slow Internet https://t.co/lLG2efNfMR
Today’s Cartoon: Slow Internet pic.twitter.com/lLG2efNfMR
— Gabriel Mahia (@gabrielmahia) November 4, 2019
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WIRED Book of the Month: Carmen Maria Machado's *In the Dream House* https://t.co/RmdJER6IYg
WIRED Book of the Month: Carmen Maria Machado's *In the Dream House* pic.twitter.com/RmdJER6IYg
— Gabriel Mahia (@gabrielmahia) November 4, 2019
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Landlords in Nigeria can demand $20,000 rent upfront
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Technique helps robots find the front door
In the not too distant future, robots may be dispatched as last-mile delivery vehicles to drop your takeout order, package, or meal-kit subscription at your doorstep — if they can find the door.
Standard approaches for robotic navigation involve mapping an area ahead of time, then using algorithms to guide a robot toward a specific goal or GPS coordinate on the map. While this approach might make sense for exploring specific environments, such as the layout of a particular building or planned obstacle course, it can become unwieldy in the context of last-mile delivery.
Imagine, for instance, having to map in advance every single neighborhood within a robot’s delivery zone, including the configuration of each house within that neighborhood along with the specific coordinates of each house’s front door. Such a task can be difficult to scale to an entire city, particularly as the exteriors of houses often change with the seasons. Mapping every single house could also run into issues of security and privacy.
Now MIT engineers have developed a navigation method that doesn’t require mapping an area in advance. Instead, their approach enables a robot to use clues in its environment to plan out a route to its destination, which can be described in general semantic terms, such as “front door” or “garage,” rather than as coordinates on a map. For example, if a robot is instructed to deliver a package to someone's front door, it might start on the road and see a driveway, which it has been trained to recognize as likely to lead toward a sidewalk, which in turn is likely to lead to the front door.
The new technique can greatly reduce the time a robot spends exploring a property before identifying its target, and it doesn’t rely on maps of specific residences.
“We wouldn’t want to have to make a map of every building that we’d need to visit,” says Michael Everett, a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “With this technique, we hope to drop a robot at the end of any driveway and have it find a door.”
Everett will present the group’s results this week at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. The paper, which is co-authored by Jonathan How, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, and Justin Miller of the Ford Motor Company, is a finalist for “Best Paper for Cognitive Robots.”
“A sense of what things are”
In recent years, researchers have worked on introducing natural, semantic language to robotic systems, training robots to recognize objects by their semantic labels, so they can visually process a door as a door, for example, and not simply as a solid, rectangular obstacle.
“Now we have an ability to give robots a sense of what things are, in real-time,” Everett says.
Everett, How, and Miller are using similar semantic techniques as a springboard for their new navigation approach, which leverages pre-existing algorithms that extract features from visual data to generate a new map of the same scene, represented as semantic clues, or context.
In their case, the researchers used an algorithm to build up a map of the environment as the robot moved around, using the semantic labels of each object and a depth image. This algorithm is called semantic SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping).
While other semantic algorithms have enabled robots to recognize and map objects in their environment for what they are, they haven’t allowed a robot to make decisions in the moment while navigating a new environment, on the most efficient path to take to a semantic destination such as a “front door.”
“Before, exploring was just, plop a robot down and say ‘go,’ and it will move around and eventually get there, but it will be slow,” How says.
The cost to go
The researchers looked to speed up a robot’s path-planning through a semantic, context-colored world. They developed a new “cost-to-go estimator,” an algorithm that converts a semantic map created by preexisting SLAM algorithms into a second map, representing the likelihood of any given location being close to the goal.
“This was inspired by image-to-image translation, where you take a picture of a cat and make it look like a dog,” Everett says. “The same type of idea happens here where you take one image that looks like a map of the world, and turn it into this other image that looks like the map of the world but now is colored based on how close different points of the map are to the end goal.”
This cost-to-go map is colorized, in gray-scale, to represent darker regions as locations far from a goal, and lighter regions as areas that are close to the goal. For instance, the sidewalk, coded in yellow in a semantic map, might be translated by the cost-to-go algorithm as a darker region in the new map, compared with a driveway, which is progressively lighter as it approaches the front door — the lightest region in the new map.
The researchers trained this new algorithm on satellite images from Bing Maps containing 77 houses from one urban and three suburban neighborhoods. The system converted a semantic map into a cost-to-go map, and mapped out the most efficient path, following lighter regions in the map, to the end goal. For each satellite image, Everett assigned semantic labels and colors to context features in a typical front yard, such as grey for a front door, blue for a driveway, and green for a hedge.
During this training process, the team also applied masks to each image to mimic the partial view that a robot’s camera would likely have as it traverses a yard.
“Part of the trick to our approach was [giving the system] lots of partial images,” How explains. “So it really had to figure out how all this stuff was interrelated. That’s part of what makes this work robustly.”
The researchers then tested their approach in a simulation of an image of an entirely new house, outside of the training dataset, first using the preexisting SLAM algorithm to generate a semantic map, then applying their new cost-to-go estimator to generate a second map, and path to a goal, in this case, the front door.
The group’s new cost-to-go technique found the front door 189 percent faster than classical navigation algorithms, which do not take context or semantics into account, and instead spend excessive steps exploring areas that are unlikely to be near their goal.
Everett says the results illustrate how robots can use context to efficiently locate a goal, even in unfamiliar, unmapped environments.
“Even if a robot is delivering a package to an environment it’s never been to, there might be clues that will be the same as other places it’s seen,” Everett says. “So the world may be laid out a little differently, but there’s probably some things in common.”
This research is supported, in part, by the Ford Motor Company.
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Capturing the heart of Nigeria - and Mandela's socks
Jaylen Christie: Carrying On A Family Tradition of Volunteerism and Service
BE Modern Man: Jaylen Christie
Community volunteer, public relations professional and marketing firm executive; 32; Director of Public Relations, Moxé
Twitter: @thesuperflynerd; Instagram: @thesuperflynerd
Growing up, my parents taught my sister and I the importance of volunteerism and service above self. To that end, I find joy in helping others. Toward the start of my career in public relations, I was blessed to be able to work for The Salvation Army, one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the world. During the Christmas season of 2015, I was tasked with helping 4,000 underprivileged children in Orlando receive brand new clothing items and toys. With God’s help, I was able to leverage partnerships with the local media and develop a communications strategy to ensure that all 4,000 children receive gifts, and it worked. Every child received brand new items. Since then, I’ve been appointed to the Orlando Economic Partnership’s Young Professional Advisory’s Council to help strengthen the city’s regional assets and businesses; the Friends of the Library Board for the Orange County Public Library System where I’ve helped raise over $10,000 to help fund reading programs last year; and was recently invited to serve as moderator at a town hall in partnership with the NAACP regarding issues faced by African Americans in our local community. Currently, I am working to help set up mobile libraries in disadvantaged areas of the city for the homeless to be able to read books as they please.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN LIFE?
My family continues to amaze me. My parents are now both in their 60s and are just as active as they were in their 30s. My father is an active entrepreneur and my mother is busy spearheading community-based initiatives. My sister is mentoring youth, continuing the family tradition of volunteerism and service. My cousin coaches young athletes. My aunts and uncles all have their own businesses, endeavors, and passion projects as well. I come from a family of hard workers and this is something that I am extremely proud of.
HOW HAVE YOU TURNED STRUGGLE INTO SUCCESS?
After graduating from the amazing Florida A&M University, I took a chance in moving to a new city without a job lined up and only $2,000 to my name. I was unemployed for a bit and had become a master chef with ramen noodles. With my bank account dwindling, I was blessed to land a job as a public relations practitioner at a small company. I didn’t have a PR background but was confident in my skillsets. That position led to a role as public relations coordinator at a homeless shelter, which led to a public relation manager position at an advertising firm, and then to my current position as director of public relations at Moxē, an integrated marketing agency where I serve as the PR lead on various agency clients and oversee all client PR strategies and tactics, in addition to working collaboratively with cross-functional groups across the agency. My success in the field of PR has earned me a spot as vice president of communication in the Orlando chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. God is good.
WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST MALE ROLE MODEL AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HIM?
Oh, that’s easy — my father. He taught me the true value of hard work and determination. He also has an uncanny ability to never stress and hasn’t met a broken car or leaky faucet that he can’t repair, which, as far as I’m concerned, makes him just as much a superhero as Marvel’s Black Panther.
WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
Dare to dream, but please, also do — for dreamers are many, but doers are few.
HOW ARE YOU PAYING IT FORWARD TO SUPPORT OTHER BLACK MALES?
Volunteerism and service lend themselves naturally to that. By serving as a volunteer with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, I’ve had the honor of leading several workshops with groups of young men who are just like me. It’s been a rewarding experience. Additionally, as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., one of our initiatives is Go to High School, Go to College, which concentrates on the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education as a road to advancement. Through the initiative, young men receive information and learn strategies that facilitate success.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE MANHOOD?
With it being 2019, I feel like the definition of manhood has evolved from what it once was, which is fine. While definitions may perchance differ from person to person, my view on manhood is that it means leadership and being of service to the downtrodden — recognizing a need and then doing something about it. That’s what volunteerism and service are about.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A BLACK MAN?
As black men, we are the epitome of cool. Richard Roundtree in Shaft, Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars, Walter Emanuel Jones in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers — those were some of the brothers that I looked up to as a child. The characters they portrayed were smart, determined, capable, and cool. These are qualities that I see in brothers every day. That’s what I like most. I am very proud to be a black man.
BE Modern Man is an online and social media campaign designed to celebrate black men making valuable contributions in every profession, industry, community, and area of endeavor. Each year, we solicit nominations in order to select men of color for inclusion in the 100 Black Enterprise Modern Men of Distinction. Our goal is to recognize men who epitomize the BEMM credo “Extraordinary is our normal” in their day-to-day lives, presenting authentic examples of the typical black man rarely seen in mainstream media. The BE Modern Men of Distinction are celebrated annually at Black Men XCEL (www.blackenterprise.com/blackmenxcel/). Click this link to submit a nomination for BE Modern Man: https://www.blackenterprise.com/nominate/. Follow BE Modern Man on Twitter: @bemodernman and Instagram: @be_modernman.
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Airbnb Halloween mansion party horror leaves 4 dead, and several others injured
A house party on Halloween has turned one of the biggest nightmares into a reality. An “Airbnb Mansion” party that took place on Thursday in Orinda, Calif., left four people dead and several others injured, KTVU News reported.
The reported shooting happened at 10:45 p.m on Thursday, according to sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Lee.
The windy road, lined with multimillion dollar homes, rendered three people dead at the scene and a fourth person died at the hospital. The number of other victims is unknown and no suspect has been apprehended at this time.
Romond Reynolds, the father of one of the victims that survived said his son Armani is currently under sedation at the hospital after being shot three to four times.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Reynolds said. “I don’t like it. I don’t understand.”
The home that was used to host this party was on rent via Airbnb. The actual owner of the $1.25 million home was identified as Michael Young Wang. He was not present at the time of the incident.
According to KTVU, neighbors state that Wang never appeared to actually move into the house or reside there, although he purchase the property in 2005. Wang’s main home is in Concord, Calif.
On Thursday, Wang told the San Francisco Chronicle that the renter said she was from Lafayette, CA and was hosting a family reunion for a dozen people. But neighbors said the house has been the source of several parties this year.
People learned the details about the fatal party via a now deleted Instagram post saying,“AirBNB mansion party” in Orinda. Guests were told to direct message someone named @tonecapone300 for the address. The flier also mentioned to “BYOB” and “BYOW.” Doors would open at 10 p.m., according to the post.
Orinda resident, Hayden Aitchison, is a senior at local school Miramonte High and said she heard the party got “really chaotic. There was a lot of yelling and then shots were fired.” At first, she said, she heard everyone was “having fun, doing their own thing. Then suddenly it turned south. My friends are OK but they are mourning the loss of the other people.”
A neighbor said he witnessed what appeared to be 30 to 50 people running down the hill to escape the shootout.
A multi-agency response team arrived at the crime scene. Orinda is a small town with a population of about 17,000 people. The F.B.I is also investigating the incident.
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Trever Noah set to produce movie about formerly homeless, 8 year-old immigrant chess prodigy
An 8-year-old, Nigerian boy is getting a motion picture to be based off of his life.
Paramount Pictures has green lit a film based on 8-year-old Tani Adewumi and his family. The film is currently untitled but will center around the Adewumi family’s life while living in a homeless center on religious asylum. Despite the disparities they faced, Tani was still able to win the 2019 New York chess championship, after playing the game for only two years.
The drama will be based on three books the family plans to publish at the HarperCollins imprint W Publishing, according to Deadline.
The movie’s producers include Day Zero Productions’ Trever Noah along with Haroom Saleem, State Street Pictures’ George Tillman Jr. and Bob Teitel, and Mainstay Entertainment’s Norman Aladjem.
The untitled film will depict the story of a Nigerian family that was able to escape terrorism in Nigeria and was able to receive asylum in America and planting new roots in New York.
Deadline describes the story as one of of love, peace, community and faith. It will also show the determination parents have when it comes to theirs family’s safety and a better opportunity at life. Tani’s viral story became an inspiration to others which sparked the book and movie deal. The three books are set to publish in Spring 2020.
READ MORE: Trevor Noah slams Kanye West for being a hypocrite: You S**tting Me?
Tani’s story wasn’t Noah’s first time in the news last week. On Wednesday night, Noah told his audience on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, he doesn’t agree with Kanye West‘s recent controversial comment that Black voters, that vote for the Democratic party are brainwashed. He also pointed out this theory is a direct disrespect to Black women.
“You know who doesn’t mess around with their votes in America? Black women. They don’t. They do not. And I refuse to live in a world where I go, ‘Black women have been brainwashed.’ No, I don’t think Black women in America have been—or can be—brainwashed. I think, if anything, Black women in America have the least leeway when it comes to messing around with their vote.”
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Meghan Markle surprises a business committed to uplifting women with a visit and helping hand
Earlier this week, the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, payed an unexpected visit to a women’s organization dedicated to helping women overcome poverty, homelessness, violence and/or criminal activity to show her support.
Markle visited the new location of the Luminary Bakery in East London for their grand opening. The bakery is a business that helps women from vulnerable circumstances. The organization specializes in providing these women with new opportunities, job skills and confidence to succeed, according to PEOPLE.
READ MORE: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, calls 1st year of marriage difficult
Markle has publicly shared her love for cooking, so it came as no surprise to see the royal with an apron on while at the bakery. She helped bake treats, including a three-tiered cake with strawberries, and also made the honorary first cut of the cake to toast the event.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on
The new mom also took this time to workshop with the women that were present. She reminded the women that great things do take time. While speaking to a domestic violence victim, Tanya, that was stabbed multiple times by her violent ex-partner, she said, “But we aren’t mechanical objects that need to be fixed. You’re a wounded creature that needs to be healed and that takes time.”
READ MORE: Kim And Kanye West pull off an epic family Halloween weekend
“I find that when you strip all the layers away, as people, and especially as women, we can find deep connection with each other, and a shared understanding,” Meghan told Bryony Gordon, of The Telegraph.
“Our lives may be different, our backgrounds, our experiences, all varied, but I find that in these moments of connection it becomes abundantly clear that our hopes, our fears, our insecurities, the things that make us tick…. well, those are very much the same,” she added. “And there’s comfort in that.”
The bakery was founded in 2014 by Alice Williams, Sarah Harrison and Abigail Mifsud. Their goal was to empower women who have been the victims of violence, sex trafficking, been in the prison system or homeless, by teaching them how to bake. The bakery also offers education on food hygiene, money management and computer literacy, allowing many of the women to work at the bakery when they complete the program. To date, the bakery has served over 50 women.
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South Africa: Inside the township where Siya Kolisi grew up
Kim And Kanye West pull off an epic family Halloween weekend
Kim Kardashian-West is known for going all out with her personal Halloween costumes from a convincing Cher look alike to imitating the late R&B singer Aaliyah.
But this year she went a little a little scarier than normal with her family. For the first theme of the weekend- yes, there were three different looks. In this version, they all dressed up as… WORMS!
Kim debuted costumes on Saturday via Instagram, with her husband, rapper Kanye West and their four children, daughter North, 6, son Saint, 3½, 21-month-old Chicago, and 5-month-old son Psalm. The photo’s caption reads “West Worms 🐛 🐛🐛🐛🐛🐛,” a play on words with the family’s last name, PEOPLE reported.
READ MORE: 50 Cent spotted on Capitol Hill making nice with Nancy Pelosi & Dem lawmakers
The West family’s costumes consisted of life-like insect body parts, including bug-eye goggles, long tails, and flourescent arms and claws, making the outfits look other wordly. Kim also shared some behind the scenes footage of the “West Worms” photoshoot, including possibly the scariest costume of them all worn by husband, Kanye West.
His mask was huge and came with little tongues that moved around. These costumes were well thought through and very detailed. One of Kim’s photo caption reads, “A bugs life! 🐛🦟🐜 My costume glowed Kanye’s costume moved and was all animatronics.”
View this post on InstagramA bugs life! 🐛🦟🐜 My costume glowed Kanye’s costume moved and was all anamatronics
A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on
In the second set-up, the crew dressed up as the iconic Flintstone family. In the video, Kanye can be seen with his mask off, reassuring their youngest daughter that it was her dad under the mask. The beauty mogul told her followers on Instagram earlier this week that her youngest daughter, Chicago, was terrified of her father dressing up as Dino in their “Flinstones” themed photoshoot and actually had to be photoshopped into the photo.
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Older siblings Saint and North dressed as Fred and Wilma Flintstone, while their little sister Chicago wore a red wig with a faux bone as their daughter, Pebbles, according to PEOPLE.
Kim posed at Betty Rubble, with 5-month-old son, Psalm was dressed as Bamm-Bamm.
READ MORE: Steph Curry sidelined for three months over broken hand
On Sunday, Kim posted the families third look for Halloween as Kanye and their three youngest children dressed up as characters from the movie “Sing”. Saint can be seen with a bunny mask in his hand, sporting a leather jacket, posed as Johnny and Kanye dressed as Johnny’s dad. Psalm is Johnny’s brother and Chicago is Ash.
Kardashian-West pokes fun at her husband’s costume being so big he almost didn’t fit in the car. “Kanye went trick or treating like this and could hardly fit in the car 🚙 😂,” she said.
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50 Cent spotted on Capitol Hill making nice with Nancy Pelosi & Dem lawmakers
Rapper and TV mogul, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is taking a dive into politics.
50 Cent was seen on Capitol Hill Wednesday meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other lawmakers to advocate for diversity and representation in the entertainment business, according to The Hill.
The 44 -year-old, tweeted a photo of himself and Pelosi in the Capitol with the caption, “My #1 Lady Nancy Pelosi – Big Changes Coming”.
My #1 Lady Nancy Pelosi – Big Changes Coming pic.twitter.com/ewCRiQjy1C
— 50cent (@50cent) October 30, 2019
Not only was 50 Cent in Washington to advocate for diversity in entertainment, but also to advocate for the Starz network, which airs his hit TV series Power. His goal was to help the network to stay with cable company Comcast Xfinity.
READ MORE: Beyoncé requests ‘normal people’ for London video shoot
This aspect of the visit should come as no surprise as 50 Cent has publicly expressed his dislike for Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts, about his handling of the Starz network.
“This is the guy fu**ing up (Power) over at @Comcast for no reason Brian Roberts, mother fu**er look like he been pushed around his whole life. He need to chill out, go to a golf course or sit his a** down some where,” 50 Cent posted to Instagram last week.
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), also tweeted a photo with 50 cent and co-star Naturi Naughton from Power, applauding their representation on TV and need for diversity everywhere.
Hate it or love it, shows like #Power matter b/c #RepresentationMatters. It is important that we see people who look like us in government AND on the big screen.
Thank you @50Cent, @naturinaughton, & @STARZ for coming to speak w/ me about the importance of diverse programming. pic.twitter.com/hB4DO3nuI9
— Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) October 30, 2019
50 Cent also met with Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) to discuss he importance of producing and promoting diverse programming, according to Fox News.
Sat down with @50cent and @naturinaughton today to discuss diversity and representation in the entertainment industry. As a fan of @Power_STARZ, I was shocked to find out that….. pic.twitter.com/4cZNOjqfDv
— Rep. Tony Cárdenas (@RepCardenas) October 30, 2019
In July, at the Television Critics Association Press Tour 50 Cent alleged that Power had been over looked by the Emmys because of the predominantly Black cast on the show.
“I like to say it’s racial. That’s the easy way to get out of things. People who are running and connected to these ceremonies are not necessarily cool people,” he said at the Television Critics Association Press Tour.
The Power midseason finale airs on Sunday night and will return in January with five final episodes, ending the shows six season run with Starz.
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5 Steps to Building Strategic Partnerships Using LinkedIn
Many entrepreneurs face challenges with determining what social media platform to use to connect them with the right audience. Attracting new business in the ever-changing digital age can be a long, arduous process, but creating strategic partnerships is a smart path to success.
“Finding the right strategic partnership can be the difference between having a successful business or just making it,” explains Deborrah Ashley, LinkedIn Marketing Strategist.
Entrepreneurs and leaders are now turning to LinkedIn to find and cultivate strategic partnerships. However, before setting up or updating your profile, here are a few tips to leverage LinkedIn to build strategic partnerships.
Know Your Outcome
The key to creating the right strategic partnerships is understanding the desired outcome. Whether it is brand awareness, lead generation, or to be known as a brand authority or thought leader, understanding your goals for using LinkedIn is important. This helps you to connect with the right professionals, entrepreneurs, clients, or customers.
Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
The profile picture is the first impression of you. Have a professional or industry-related profile picture that aligns with your brand or desired messaging.
The headline is the section at the top of the profile for a professional description in 120 characters or less. Customizing the profile description will help you to distinguish yourself. Ashley also recommends having the “about” section completed as well as getting testimonials from current or past co-workers or clients.
Customizing the banner image of your LinkedIn profile is a great way to brand your expertise or key message. The standard default blue banner will not optimize your professional identity. LinkedIn allows users to customize their banner image.
“Showcasing industry qualifications, accreditation, or media mentions will build credibility. This could be the deciding factor for possible strategic partners. Also, highlighting your contact information on the banner image makes it easier for people to connect with you,” shares Ashley.
Identify Strategic Partnerships or Champions
Strategic partners or champions are people who influence your target audience or clients. Influencers like radio and podcast hosts can introduce your brand or business to their audience.
“Before reaching out to them, be sure to engage with their content. This will help increase your connection acceptance rate and ensure more connections turn into conversations,” says Ashley.
Create Compelling Content
“Your content should act like breadcrumbs,” explains Ashely. “It should be designed to lead the reader back to your profile so they can reach out to you and ask for help.”
Compelling content is a great tool to establish value and open doors to new opportunities without seeming “spammy.”
People like to receive information in different ways. Knowing how your target audience prefers to consume information will help to determine the best way to share your content. Use images to paint a picture, share audio clips from a podcast or a presentation you facilitated, or post stories that resonate with your audience.
Plan Outreach Strategy
The idea is to stay top of mind as a resource. Ashley suggests sending messages to potential strategic partners to create and keep a connection. Over the course of four weeks, here are three sample messages.”
Message #1: The “Nice Connecting with You” Message
This message is used to break the ice with someone with whom you’ve just connected.
Message #2: The “Value” Message
In this message, you’re not asking for anything. Just give value. When done correctly, you will get people who are interested in getting on a call with you immediately.
Message #3: The “Get On the Phone” Message
This message moves the conversation off LinkedIn to see how you can add value to each other’s business. If they are local, inviting them for coffee is an excellent way to enhance the connection.
“From there, strategic partnerships can be developed that result in mutual referrals and new business opportunities,” says Ashley.
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Starbucks Manager Says the Coffee Giant Discriminated Against White People in New Lawsuit
A former regional manager for Starbucks filed a lawsuit Monday against the coffee giant, arguing that she was fired from her position because she is white following the arrests of two black men in a Philadelphia store last year.
According to a lawsuit obtained by CBS3, Shannon Phillips claims she was unjustly terminated less than a month after the men were arrested in April 2018 for sitting in a Starbucks without making a purchase. A Starbucks manager reportedly called police alleging that the young men were trespassing and refused to leave the establishment. The men, however, said they were there for a business meeting and were waiting for a third person. Nevertheless, they were escorted out of the store in handcuffs and video footage of the incident triggered a firestorm of controversy from critics who claimed the African American men were targeted because of their race.
In response to the incident, Starbucks dropped charges against the men, released a public apology, and closed its more than 8,000 locations so that employees could receive racial sensitivity training.
Weeks later, Phillips says she was mandated by superiors to suspend a white Starbucks manager who had no involvement with the incident or the store where arrests took place. She objected and was then fired the next day so that the company would appear like it was trying to rectify the situation.
According to a report from NBC News:
Phillips says in her lawsuit that after the arrests she “immediately took steps to learn additional information about the events … address strong community reaction” and “ensure the safety” of Starbucks’ employees and customers.
She also “took steps to ensure that the retail locations within her area were a safe and welcoming environment for all customers, regardless of race,” the suit says.
About a month after the arrests, Phillips was ordered to suspend one of her subordinates, a white 15-year employee, who was a Starbucks manager but had nothing to do with the arrests or the store where they occurred, the suit says. The manager who was responsible for the store, who is black, was not penalized.
Her bosses told her that nonwhite employees at the store whose manager they wanted her to suspend had been paid less than white employees. Phillips objected, pointing out that store managers have nothing to do with determining salaries, which are set by a different division of the company, according to the lawsuit.
The next day, Phillips was fired, with managers telling her “the situation is not recoverable.”
Phillips claims in the suit that she regularly “received positive performance evaluations and related merit driven bonuses and salary increases.” She says she would still have her job if she were not white.
Phillips is seeking a jury trial along with compensatory and punitive damages.
Meanwhile, Starbucks officials have rejected her claims. “We deny the claims of the lawsuit and are prepared to defend our case in court,” a spokesperson told CBS3.
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