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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778506545780706793Fri, 16 Oct 2026 14:32:18 +0000cognitive biasconfirmation biasfallacy of relevanceaffect biasaffective biaspost hoc fallacysubjective validationForer effectcognitive illusioncommunal reinforcementexperimenter effectfalse implicationfalse memoryhalo effectillusion of controlmotivated reasoningplacebo effectrepresentativeness biasself-serving biasOccam's razorTexas sharpshooter fallacyactor-observer biasad hoc hypothesisad hominemaffirming the consequentanecdotal evidenceappeal to irrelevant authorityappeal to traditionargument to ignoranceassociative learningattribution biasavailability biasbackfire effectbegging the questionbetter-than-average biasbias blind spotbiasescausal fallacieschange blindnesschoice blindnesscitation biasclever Hans effectclustering illusioncognitive dissonancecoincidencecold readingconditioningconfabulationconjunction fallacycontinued influence effectcontrol group studycorrelationcorrespondence biascritical thinkingdenying the antecedentfallaciesfalse charge of suppressed evidencefile-drawer effectfundamental attribution errorfunnel plothindsight biashostile media effectideomotor effectignoranceillusion of causalityillusion of justiceillusion of knowledgeillusion of objectivityillusion of personal significanceillusion of skillillusion of understandingillusionsinattentional blindnessinformal fallaciesintentionality biasirrelevant appeal to authoritylaw of contagionlaw of similaritylaw of truly large numberslogical fallaciesloss aversionmagical thinkingnegative halo effectnegativity biasoptimistic biasperceptual illusionpositive-outcome biaspriming effectpublication biasrandomizationrecency biasregressive fallacyreverse halo effectselection biasselective thinkingself-deceptionshoehorningslippery slopestraw mansuppressed evidencesystematic reviewtestimonialswisdomwishful thinkingUnnatural Acts that can improve your thinkingA follow-up to the book "Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism and Science Exposed!" by Robert Todd Carroll, creator of The Skeptic's Dictionary. The blog will offer irregular postings about cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and illusions.noreply@blogger.com (Robert Todd Carroll)Blogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778506545780706793.post-5799365328141767303Fri, 15 Nov 2013 14:33:00 +00002013-11-26T18:13:02.220-08:00biasescritical thinkingfallaciesillusionsThe Critical Thinker's DictionaryThe Critical Thinker's Dictionary: Biases, Fallacies, and Illusions and what you can do about them is now available from Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble as an e-book and from Lulu as a paperback. Click <a href="; target="_blank">here</a> for more information about ordering. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="; imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="; width="126" /></a></div> The Critical Thinker’s Dictionary grew out of a suggestion made by Harriet Hall, M.D., in a review of my book Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism, and Science Exposed! Unnatural Acts. That book concluded with a chapter that advised the reader to study 59 cognitive biases, fallacies, and illusions that I briefly described. This blog was set up with the goal of posting expansions on those descriptions. So, every Monday for 59 weeks I tackled one of the biases, illusions, or fallacies and posted them here. Those posts have been rewritten and a few more topics have been added to produce The Critical Thinker’s Dictionary. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"> </div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"> A guiding principle of Unnatural Acts and The Critical Thinker's Dictionary is that critical thinking does not come naturally. Not only must we work at becoming critical thinkers, doing so goes against our nature. Evolution has provided our species with a magnificent brain, capable of extraordinary things like self-consciousness, memory, facial recognition, and thousands of other “miracles.” But we evolved to think quickly, a necessity in the environments our species found itself during most of its 100,000-year history. There are times in our modern world where quick thinking is needed, but there are also many times when we should slow things down. Sometimes we are better off if, instead of relying on our instinctive, natural way of thinking about things, we take some time to do some research, to reflect, and to discuss before making a judgment. </div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></div> <div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;">  'Know Thyself' advised the ancient Greek sages at a time when philosophers defined us as rational animals. Rationality was thought of as an ideal largely achievable by controlling the emotions and avoiding logical fallacies. Today, we know better. Biology and neuroscience have exposed the brain as a great deceiver. Unconscious biases drive us to believe and do things that the conscious mind explains in self-serving stories, making us appear more rational to ourselves than we really are. Modern science has taught us that rationality involves much more than just controlling the emotions and avoiding fallacies. Today’s rational animal—what we call the critical thinker—must understand the unconscious biases that are directing many of our most important judgments and decisions. The Critical Thinker’s Dictionary explores the insights of ancient and modern philosophers along with the latest findings in such fields as neuroscience and behavioral economics to lay out the many obstacles and snares that await anyone committed to a rational life. The Critical Thinker’s Dictionary isn’t a collection of dry definitions, but a colorful, three-dimensional portrait of the major obstacles to critical thinking and what we can do to overcome them.</div> 2013/11/the-critical-thinkers-dictionary.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Todd Carroll)120tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778506545780706793.post-6795507190245217491Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-02-04T19:07:21.226-08:00conjunction fallacywisdomthe wisdom of not thinking too muchThis will be last blog post for Unnatural Acts that can improve your thinking. Instead of introducing another cognitive bias or logical fallacy, this final post will be devoted to considering when wisdom requires that we stop thinking altogether or that we stop gathering data to reflect on. <a name='more'></a> We know that we have evolved to make quick decisions and that following our instincts has served the species pretty well, at least in terms of survival. The other entries in this blog have focused on the cognitive short cuts and logical fallacies that often accompany thinking that comes naturally. The focus has been on the importance of reflective thinking for making good judgments and coming to decisions that we won't regret. But there are times when a person will do better to stop thinking, stop reflecting, and to simply act. Not everyone arrives at this stage where the wise thing to do is to put critical thinking aside. Those who do have spent many years gaining knowledge, expertise, or performing ability. Their training, practice, and the skillful development of their talents have eliminated the need for reflection in order to do the right thing or make the right call. When it comes time to sing that aria before an adoring audience or swing at a 98 mph fastball in front of 50,000 baseball fanatics, thinking about what you are doing will hinder rather than help you succeed. When you have analyzed a problem to death in chemistry or physics, sometimes the best thing to do is to stop thinking about the problem and divert your attention to something else. There is no guarantee, but sometimes unconscious processes will provide you with the solution out of the blue. When an unexpected situation arises for which none of your years of training or experience has prepared you, following your instincts may be your best policy. All of these situations presuppose that you are extremely knowledgeable, have many years of experience, or have reached a performance level recognized as the highest level in your field. <a href=" Simon</a>, Nobel Prize winner in economics, put it this way: for the true expert, "intuition is nothing more than recognition." For the true expert, the situation provides cues and the cues give "the expert access to information stored in memory, and the information provides the answer" (quoted in Daniel Kahneman, <a href=", Fast and Slow</a>, p. 11). Experts in fields where reliable predictions occur with some regularity--such as physics, math, and chemistry--should be looked at differently than experts who make predictions in low-validity fields where long-term predictions are just guesswork because of the complexity of the system they are trying to master. Political and economic experts, for example, actually do worse than dart-throwing monkeys when it comes to making long-term predictions. (See <a href=" Tetlock</a>, <a href=" Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?</a> [2005]. Tetlock is a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania who studied expert predictions over a twenty-year period.) The intuition of such experts is about as reliable as the intuition of the "average citizen" when asked to make long-term predictions about politics or the economy. It should go without saying that having high subjective confidence in one's knowledge or intuition is not a good sign of being accurate or wise. People who are ignorant and have no experience and little talent but who follow their instincts are as likely to make bad decisions as stumble upon a good decision. But people who have vast amounts of knowledge, experience, or performing history should do little or no thinking while acting and should trust their instincts when working in their field of expertise. Outside their fields of expertise, of course, experts and talented artists are as vulnerable to the snares and lures of uncritical thinking as the rest of us. There are also times when each of us should stop gathering more information to help us make a decision or judgment. Information overload can hinder our ability to make good judgments at times. Often we are better off making a decision by considering only a few obviously important factors rather than by introducing as many pertinent items as we can come up with. The more variables we bring into play, the greater our chances of giving more weight to minor items and less weight to important items. This point was made clear by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in experiments that showed giving people more information about a subject led them to poorer decisions. One example has become a classic. Subjects are told that Linda is "thirty-one years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in antinuclear demonstrations." Then they are asked which of several statements they thought would be true of Linda. In test after test, subjects thought it more likely that Linda was a feminist bank teller than that she was a bank teller. There is a fundamental logical error here, which Kahneman and Tversy called the conjunction fallacy. (A conjunction is the joining of two statements with words like 'and' or 'but'.) It should be obvious that there is a greater probability of a single conjunct being true than there is of both conjuncts being true (Daniel Kahneman, <a href=", Fast and Slow</a>, p. 156). These conjunction error studies have been replicated by Christopher Hsee and John List with different scenarios presented to test subjects but with identical results to Kahneman and Tversky. Gathering more and more information can give one the <a href="search/label/illusion%20of%20understanding">illusion of understanding</a>. American psychologist and philosopher <a href=" Meehl</a> compared the predictions of trained counselors versus a simple algorithm that used just two or three variables and found that the simple programs were significantly more accurate in their predictions than the more complex programs of the experts. A typical test might involve trying to predict the grade point average for various freshmen at the end of the school year. A simple formula that looked only at high school GPA and the results of one standardized college entrance test were compared with the predictions of counselors who had interviewed each student for 45 minutes and also had access to the results of several standardized tests and a four-page personal statement from each student. In that study, the simple algorithm outperformed 79 percent of the experts. American economist <a href=" Ashenfelter</a> did a similar experiment involving predicting prices for fine Bordeaux wines. He pitted the experts against a simple formula that considered only weather, average temperature over the summer growing season, the amount of rain at harvest-time, and the total rainfall during the previous winter. Ashenfelter's formula outperformed the world-renowned experts. (Ashenfelter's work is discussed in Daniel Kahneman, <a href=", Fast and Slow</a>, p. 224ff.) In matters of personal taste, the less information the better. Just drink the wine, taste the jam, let your feelings tell you which print you prefer. Don't be influenced by how much the wine costs. Don't get hung up on the various qualities one might list to distinguish different jams. Don't get too many details about the various prints you have to choose from. If the one you like is affordable to you, buy it no matter what your friends or the critics say. In decisions that are more or less trivial in the big picture--this would include everything from buying a new pen to deciding where to go on vacation or what new couch to buy--the less information the better. We've all heard the expression "paralysis by analysis." When a decision is a minor one, the wisest path is often to focus on two or three important points, rather than drum up a list of every pro and con you can think of and then apply your list to dozens of possible choices. In decisions that are monumental, such as the decision to send troops to fight in a foreign country or to take a loved one off life support, one should get as much information as possible from trustworthy sources who aren't likely to be biased. In such cases, we should consult with both those who are likely to think in ways we are likely to agree with and with those who are likely to disagree with us. Important decisions require diversity of input. In the end, the evidence may seem to weigh equally for going to war and not going to war or for taking a loved off life support and keeping a loved one on life support. You may have no choice but to rely on your gut feeling at that point. (Cf. William James's "<a href=" Will to Believe</a>"). The only other alternative I can see is to take a vote among one's advisers or family members (or whatever group is relevant to the decision-making process) and go with whatever the majority thinks. So, while wisdom requires devotion to critical thinking, it also requires knowing when to turn off critical thinking and rely on intuition, gut feeling, instinct, or whatever you choose to call that non-reflective preference percolating in our ever-fascinating brains.2013/02/the-wisdom-of-not-thinking-too-much.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Todd Carroll)310tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778506545780706793.post-3269248112842733133Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-01-29T08:03:47.010-08:00change blindnesschange blindnessChange blindness is the failure to detect non-trivial changes in the visual field. The failure to see things changing right before your eyes may seem like a design fault, but it is actually a sign of evolutionary efficiency. Examples may be seen by clicking  <a href=";, <a href=" href="; here,</a> <a href=";, and <a href=" /> The term 'change blindness' was introduced by <a href=" Rensink</a> in 1997, although research in this area had been going on for many years. Experiments have shown that dramatic changes in the visual field often go unnoticed whether they are brought in gradually, flickered in and out, or abruptly brought in and out at various time intervals. The implication seems to be that the brain requires few details for our visual representations; the brain doesn't store dozens of details to which it can compare changes (Simons and Levin: 1998). The brain is not a video recorder and it is not constantly processing all the sense data available to it but is inattentive to much of that data, at least on a conscious level. <a name='more'></a> Change detection in films is notoriously poor when the change occurs during a cut or pan, as demonstrated by the <a href=" card trick video </a>and a number of other videos where a different actor appears after a cut, without the change being noticed by most viewers. Some experiments have shown that a person may be talking to someone (behind a counter, for example) who leaves (bends down behind the counter or exits the room) and is replaced by a different person, without the change being noticed. Apparently, change blindness is due to the efficient nature of our evolved visual processing system, but it also opens the door to being deceived, much to the delight of magicians and sleight-of-hand con artists. sources <a href=", Christopher and Daniel Simons. 2010. The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us. Crown.</a>See also <a href=" review</a> of this book. <a href=" Deborah et. al. 2007. ‘Unconscious Transference’ Can Be an Instance of ‘Change Blindness’</a> <a href=", Ronald A., J. Kevin O'Regan, and James J. Clark. (1997). To see or not to see: the need for attention to perceive changes in scenes, Psychological Science 8 (5): 368-373.</a> <a href=", Daniel J. & Daniel T. Levin. (1998). Failure to detect changes to people during a real-world interaction, Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 5: 644-649.</a> 2013/01/change-blindness.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Todd Carroll)79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778506545780706793.post-2899556413024664063Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:00:00 +00002013-01-21T17:14:01.358-08:00better-than-average biasbias blind spotbias blind spotThe bias blind spot was described by Princeton University psychologist Emily Pronin and her colleagues (2002) as the tendency to perceive cognitive and motivational biases much more in others than in oneself. The bias blind spot is a metabias since it refers to a pattern of inaccurate judgment in reasoning about cognitive biases. <a name='more'></a> In one study, Pronin et al. (2002) found that people tend to rate themselves as less subject to biases than others. In another study, “participants … who showed better-than-average bias” were instructed in how biases operate at the unconscious level. Nevertheless, 63% insisted that their self-assessments were accurate and objective. Better-than-average bias is the <a href=" of individuals to rank themselves as better than average on just about anything you ask them</a>. For example, 74% of all managers think they are better than average at managing. (As Dilbert’s boss noted: this means that 26% of managers don’t know that they’re better than average. To which Dilbert replied: you’re all in the top 110%. See <a href=" Adams's cartoon for January 18, 2013</a>.) Participants in another study “reported their peer’s self-serving attributions regarding test performance to be biased but their own similarly self-serving attributions to be free of bias.” In another study, Pronin and Matthew Kugler (2006) argue that the bias blind spot “involves the value that people place, and believe they should place, on introspective information (relative to behavioral information) when assessing bias in themselves versus others. Participants considered introspective information more than behavioral information for assessing bias in themselves, but not others.” A consequence of the bias blind spot is that people tend to think their own beliefs are accurate and their sources trustworthy, but those who hold different views are biased and their sources are not trustworthy (Ehrlinger et al. 2005). Finally, a study by Richard West et al. (2012) found that “being free of the bias blind spot does not help a person avoid the actual classic cognitive biases.” They also found that higher cognitive ability did not correlate with a smaller bias blind spot. (Note: West et al. did not find that “smarter people are more vulnerable to these thinking errors,” as Jonah Lehrer claimed in a New Yorker article [“Why Smart People Are Stupid,” June 12, 2012]. In fact, the opposite is true: Most cognitive biases are negatively correlated with cognitive sophistication, as West et al. note in their article.) Sources Ehrlinger, Joyce, Thomas Gilovich and Lee Ross. 2005. Peering Into the Bias Blind Spot: People’s Assessments of Bias in Themselves and Others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Vol. 31, No. 5, 680-692. <a href=", E. & Matthew B. Kugler. 2006. Valuing thoughts, ignoring behavior: The introspection illusion as a source of the bias blind spot. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Vol 43, Issue 4, 565-578. </a> Pronin, E., Gilovich, T., & Ross, L. 2004. Objectivity in the eye of the beholder: divergent perceptions of bias in self versus others. Psychological Review. 111, 781–799. Pronin, E., Lin, D. Y., & Ross, L. 2002. The bias blind spot: Perceptions of bias in self versus others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 28, 369-381. <a href=", Michael. 2011. The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies---How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. Times Books.</a> West, Richard, Russell Meserve and Keith Stanovich. 2012. Cognitive sophistication does not attenuate the bias blind spot. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. September; 103(3): 506-19. Wilson, T. D., Centerbar, D. B., & Brekke, N. 2002. Mental contamination and the debiasing problem. In<a href="; D. Griffin & T. Gilovich (Eds.), Heuristics and biases: The psychology of intuitive judgment </a>(pp. 185–200). New York: Cambridge. 2013/01/bias-blind-spot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Todd Carroll)126tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778506545780706793.post-7050205037807326259Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:03:00 +00002013-01-15T18:45:10.966-08:00false charge of suppressed evidencesuppressed evidenceTexas sharpshooter fallacysuppressed evidenceA cogent argument presents all the relevant evidence. An argument that omits relevant evidence appears stronger and more cogent than it is. The fallacy of suppressed evidence occurs when an arguer intentionally omits relevant data. This is a difficult fallacy to detect because we often have no way of knowing that we haven't been told the whole truth. Many advertisements commit this fallacy. Ads inform us of a product's dangers only if required to do so by law. Ads never state that a competitor's product is equally good. The <a href="; [<a href=";, <a href="; [<a href=";, <a href="; [<a href=";, and <a href="; [<a href="; industries have knowingly suppressed evidence regarding the health of their employees or the health hazards of their industries and products. <a name='more'></a> Occasionally scientists will suppress evidence, making a study seem more significant than it is. In the December 1998 issue of The Western Journal of Medicine scientists Fred Sicher, Elisabeth Targ, Dan Moore II, and Helene S. Smith published "A Randomized Double-Blind Study of the Effect of Distant Healing [DH] in a Population With Advanced AIDS--Report of a Small Scale Study." (See my article on the <a href=" distance healing report</a> for more details.) The authors do not mention, <a href=" has The Western Journal of Medicine ever acknowledged, that the study was originally designed and funded to determine one specific effect: death. </a>The 1998 study was designed to be a follow-up to a 1995 study of 20 patients with AIDS, ten of whom were prayed for by psychic healers. Four of the patients died, a result consistent with chance, but all four were in the control group, a stat that appeared anomalous enough to these scientists to do further study. I don't know whether evidence was suppressed or whether the scientists doing the study were simply incompetent, but the four patients who died were the four oldest in the study. The 1995 study did not control for age when it assigned the patients to either the control or the healing prayer group. Any controlled study on mortality that does not control for age is by definition not a properly designed study. The follow-up study, however, did suppress evidence, yet it is "widely acknowledged as the most scientifically rigorous attempt ever to discover if prayer can heal" (Bronson, <a href=" Prayer Before Dying</a>," 2002). The standard format for scientific reports is to begin with an abstract that summarizes the contents of the report. The abstract for the Sicher report notes that controls were done for age, number of AIDS-defining illnesses, and cell count. Patients were randomly assigned to the control or healing prayer groups. The study followed the patients for six months. "At 6 months, a blind medical chart review found that treatment subjects acquired significantly fewer new AIDS-defining illnesses (0.1 versus 0.6 per patient, P = 0.04), had lower illness severity (severity score 0.8 versus 2.65, P = 0.03), and required significantly fewer doctor visits (9.2 versus 13.0, P = 0.01), fewer hospitalizations (0.15 versus 0.6, P = 0.04), and fewer days of hospitalization (0.5 versus 3.4, P = 0.04)." These numbers are very impressive. They indicate that the measured differences were not likely due to chance. Whether they were due to healing prayer (HP) is another matter, but the scientists concluded their abstract with the claim: "These data support the possibility of a DH effect in AIDS and suggest the value of further research." Two years later the team, led by Elisabeth Targ, was granted $1.5 million of our tax dollars from the <a href=" Institutes of Health Center for Complementary Medicine</a> to do further research on the healing effects of prayer. What the Sicher study didn't reveal was that the original study had not been designed to do any of these measurements they report as significant. Of course, any researcher who didn't report significant findings just because the original study hadn't set out to investigate them would be remiss. The standard format of a scientific report allows such findings to be noted in the abstract or in the Discussion section of the report. It would have been appropriate for the Sicher report to have noted in the Discussion section that since only one patient died during their study, it appears that the new drugs being given AIDS patients as part of their standard therapy (triple-drug anti-retroviral therapy) were having a significant effect on longevity. They might even have suggested that their finding warranted further research into the effectiveness of the new drug therapy. However, the Sicher report abstract doesn't even mention that only one of their subjects died during the study, indicating that they didn't recognize a truly significant research finding. It may also indicate that the scientists didn't want to call attention to the fact that their original study was designed to study the effect of healing prayer on the mortality rate of AIDS patients. Since only one patient died, perhaps they felt that they had nothing to report. It was only after they mined the data once the study was completed that they came up with the suggestive and impressive statistics that they present in their published report. The <a href=" sharpshooter fallacy</a> seems to have been committed here. Under certain conditions, mining the data would be perfectly acceptable. For example, if your original study was designed to study the effectiveness of a drug on blood pressure but you find after the data is in that the experimental group had no significant decrease in blood pressure but did have a significant increase in HDL (the "good" cholesterol), you would be remiss not to mention this. You would be guilty of deception, however, if you wrote your paper as if your original design was to study the effects of the drug on cholesterol and made no mention of blood pressure. It would have been entirely appropriate for the Sicher group to have noted in the Discussion section of their report that they had discovered something interesting in their statistics: Hospital stays and doctor visits were lower for the HP group. It was inappropriate to write the report as if that was one of the effects the study was designed to measure when this effect was neither looked for nor discovered until Moore, the statistician for the study, began crunching numbers looking for something of statistical significance after the study was completed. That was the most significant stat he could come up with. Again, crunching numbers and data mining after a study is completed is appropriate; not mentioning that you rewrote your paper to make it look like it had been designed to crunch those numbers isn't. It would have been appropriate in the Discussion section of their report to have speculated as to the reason for the statistically significant differences in hospitalizations and days of hospitalization. They could have speculated that prayer made all the difference and, if they were competent, they would have also noted that insurance coverage could have made all the difference as well. "Patients with health insurance tend to stay in hospitals longer than uninsured ones" (Bronson 2002). The researchers should have checked this out and reported their findings. Instead, they then took a list of 23 illnesses associated with AIDS and had Sicher go back over each of the forty patient medical charts and use them to collect the data for the 23 illnesses as best he could. This was after it was known to Sicher which group each patient had been randomly assigned to, prayer or control. The fact that the names were blacked out, so he could not immediately tell whose record he was reading, does not seem sufficient to justify allowing him to review the data. There were only 40 patients in the study and he was familiar with each of them. It would have been better had an independent party, someone not involved in the study, gone over the medical charts. Sicher is "an ardent believer in distant healing" and he had put up $7,500 for the pilot study on prayer and mortality. His impartiality was clearly compromised. So was the double-blind quality of the study. Thus, there was quite a bit of significant and relevant evidence suppressed in the Sicher study that, had it been revealed, might have diminished its reputation as the best designed study ever on prayer and healing. Instead of being held up as a model of promising research in the field of spiritual science, this study might have ended up in the trash heap where it belongs. <div style="text-align: center;"> another example of suppressed evidence</div> In an effort to encourage reporters to be more critical of President Barack <a href="; Obama's economic stimulus package</a>, Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, encouraged reporters to determine the wastefulness of the package by getting "out your calculators" and divide the amount of money being spent by the number of jobs created or saved. Doing so produces the ridiculous figure of nearly a quarter of a million dollars per job. (The White House had estimated that $160 billion in stimulus money was spent and that 650,000 jobs were created or preserved.) Fortunately, many reporters didn't take the bait. <a href="; Calvin Woodward of the Associated Press</a>, for example, responded by writing an article on some of the things that Stewart was not considering. When you consider all the relevant evidence, the notion that Obama is spending about $250,000 per job can be seen for the distortion that it is. Woodward notes: <blockquote class="tr_bq"> The calculations ignore the fact that the money doesn't go directly to each job holder, but also goes toward material and supplies as well. The contracts being made will fuel work for months or years. Jobs begun with stimulus money will probably stimulate more jobs in the future, e.g., a construction project may only require a few engineers to get going, but the work force may swell "as ground is broken and building accelerates." The stimulus package approved by Congress includes money for "research, training, plant equipment, extended unemployment benefits, credit assistance for businesses and more."</blockquote> Editors at the <a href="; The Washington Examiner</a>, however, didn't do any critical thinking and wrote: <blockquote class="tr_bq"> Even if we take at face value the White House claim that it created or saved all these jobs with approximately $150 billion of the economic stimulus money, a little simple math shows the taxpayers aren’t getting any bargains here: $150 billion divided by 650,000 jobs equals $230,000 per job saved or created. Instead of taking all that time required to write the 1,588-page stimulus bill, Congress could have passed a one-pager saying the first 650,000 jobless persons to report for work at the White House will receive a voucher worth $230,000 redeemable at the university, community college or trade school of their choice. That would have been enough for a degree plus a hefty down payment on a mortgage.</blockquote> <a href=" for America took the Examiner</a> to task for their "misleading cost-per-job stimulus math." The simplistic math doesn't capture the complexity of the effects of the stimulus package. Finally, it is an unfortunate fact that some prosecutors subvert the criminal justice system by not disclosing exculpatory evidence. As a result, many languish in prison unlawfully and can only hope that the suppressed evidence will be exposed and their <a href=" overturned by courts</a>. Police fabrication often goes hand in hand with suppressed evidence in such cases, e.g., the case of the <a href=" Six</a> and the case of the <a href=" Park Five</a>. <div style="text-align: center;"> false charge of suppressed evidence</div> Cranks often make a false charge of suppressed evidence to support claims that their alternative view of science, history, or current affairs is justified. For example, Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson in Forbidden Archeology (1993) claim that scientists have been suppressing evidence of all kinds rather than give up the standard model for the age of the human species. <blockquote class="tr_bq"> The evidence includes a nail found in Devonian sandstone, metallic tubes found in Cretaceous chalk, a gold thread found in Carboniferous stone, a small Carboniferous gold chain found in a lump of coal, a Carboniferous iron cup from a chunk of coal, a Cambrian ‘shoe print’, a metallic vase from Precambrian rock, and Precambrian grooved metallic spheres from South Africa.<a href="; Unfortunately, none of this evidence exists because it's been suppressed, according to the authors, and we have to rely on reports of its existence from a variety of sources who are long dead. The <a href=" industry has long been accused of suppressing evidence</a> regarding various free energy devices and technology. (The link here mentions a 60 Minutes piece on cold fusion in its defense. Please see <a href=" review</a> of Scott Pelley's pampering of Martin Fleishmann.) Wikipedia has a separate entry for the conspiracy theory "<a href=" energy suppression</a>.") NASA and the U.S. government have been falsely accused of suppressing evidence regarding <a href=" visitations</a>, the <a href=" moon landing</a>, and who knows what else. Conspiracy theorists frequently accuse the U.S. government and Big Pharma of suppressing evidence on a number of things including the <a href=" behind 9/11</a> and the <a href=" of vaccinations to harm us</a>. This should not surprise us since both <a href="; [<a href=";, <a href="; and <a href=" Pharma</a> have suppressed evidence many times in the past. The government and Big Pharma won't tell us that <a href=" flu shot promotes Alzheimer's</a>, according to conspiracist <a href=" Blaylock, M.D.</a> Former dentist <a href=" Horowitz</a> warns us that the evidence has been suppressed that proves that the AIDS and Ebola epidemics were intentionally caused by the U.S. government and that the H1N1 vaccine causes sterility. The master of self-serving nonsense, <a href=" </a><a href=" href=";, has been telling the world for years that "they" have been suppressing evidence for "natural" cures, good diets, and how to get out of debt. To prove that evidence has been suppressed one must do more than provide suggestions, implications, and claims from others who can't be cross-examined and who can't produce the evidence that relevant data has been suppressed. One must produce the evidence that relevant evidence has been suppressed. That has not been done by one of the weirdest conspiracy theory/alternative medicine cranks I've ever come across: <a href=";, which claims to be the "world's first downloadable medicine." These characters, who go by names such as <a href=" S Van Cleave, Michael H. Uehara, and Nicholas Brandon Zynda</a>, also call their operation <a href=" Technology</a>. They recently appeared at the <a href=" Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas</a>, touting their quantum computing based on extraterrestrial technology that allows medicine to be digitized and downloaded to your cell phone and magically teleported to your body. The world of science-based medicine has been duping us for centuries with its chemical-based approach. These folks use the slogan "Treat disease with data not drugs." The claim, contrary to all known science, that quantum physics allows them to use a special quantum computer to directly transfer data to your phone that then somehow is magically digitized and directly uploaded to your body exactly where it's needed. Never mind that such geniuses should be able to eliminate the physical device (smart phone, computer. or tablet) as an intermediary. Anyway, they claim that <a href=" treatment systems are not compatible with human physiology.</a> How do they know this? "The universe, including the human body and conditions that afflict it, all operates [sic] according to the principles of quantum physics. Chemical based treatment systems do not operate according to those principles and, as such, are not compatible with the human host." (Nice contradiction, don't you think? On the one hand everything operates according to the principles of quantum physics but chemical treatments don't operate according to the principles of quantum physics.) If these claims were true--which they are not--it would mean that there has been a vast conspiracy involving the entire scientific community for several centuries to suppress not only scientific evidence but logical principles as well. These quantum/extraterrestrial folks claim they have a humanitarian research group called <a href=";(Zürich Alpine Group):  <blockquote class="tr_bq"> ZAG understands that quantum problems require a quantum solution and has found a way to transfer bioinformation from its quantum computer via quantum teleportation to the brain, [and?] also [has made?] a quantum computer, [sic] to reprogram the brain to effect positive medical changes within the body and mind. These technological advancements have thus given birth to the world's first downloadable medicines. </blockquote> They've kept their work quiet because Big Pharma is lurking in the wings ready to steal their secrets. Anyway, none of these downloadable "medicines" are free (including the one that supposedly gives protection against <a href=";) and I would bet that the claim that all profit is going to charity is as true as the rest of the claims on their websites. If you're still paying attention, you should know that your pet can be protected, too: <blockquote class="tr_bq"> Use your cell phone (your pc, laptop or tablet) to instantly diagnose and medically treat your pet at home with guaranteed results with a radical new technology of extraterrestrial origin. Using pure data, QuantumVET Tricorder Plus treats by programming the brain of the species with biodirectives.</blockquote> It should be noted that what the quantum/extraterrestrial folks claim about effecting physiological changes by a quantum computer via quantum teleporting is false because the mass of biological molecules and the speed with which they communicate via ion channels and mechanically are several orders of magnitude too large for quantum effects to matter. See <a href=" Unconscious Quantum by Victor Stenger</a> and <a href=" Spark of Life by Frances Ashford.</a>2013/01/suppressed-evidence.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Robert Todd Carroll)49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778506545780706793.post-6397848960669880792Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:38:00 +00002013-01-07T15:44:39.240-08:00anecdotal evidencetestimonialsanecdotal evidence (testimonials)Testimonials and anecdotes are used to support claims in many fields. Advertisers often rely on testimonials to persuade consumers of the effectiveness or value of their products or services. Others use anecdotes to drive home the horror of some alleged activity or the danger of widely-used electronic devices like cell phones. In the mid-90s, there were many people, some in law enforcement, claiming that <a href=" were abducting and abusing children</a> on a massive scale. The anecdotes involved vivid descriptions of horrible sexual abuse, even murder of innocent children. The anecdotes were quite convincing, especially when they were repeated on nationally televised programs with popular hosts like <a href=" Rivera</a>. A four-year study in the early 1990s found the allegations of satanic ritual abuse to be without merit. Researchers investigated more than 12,000 accusations and surveyed more than 11,000 psychiatric, social service, and law enforcement personnel. The researchers could find <a href=" unequivocal evidence for a single case of satanic cult ritual abuse.</a> <a name='more'></a><a href="; </a> There have also been scares fueled by anecdotes regarding such disparate items as silicone breast implants, cell phones, and vaccinations. In the 1990s many women blamed their cancers and other diseases on breast implants. Talk show hosts like <a href=" Winfrey and Jenny Jones</a> presented groups of women who were suffering from cancer or some other serious disease and who had been diagnosed after they'd had breast implants. The stories tugged at the heartstrings and brought tears to many sensitive eyes, but the scientific evidence did not exist that there was a causal connection between the implants and any disease. That fact did not prevent lawyers from extorting $4.25 billion from implant manufacturers. Marcia Angell, former executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, <a href="; brought the wrath of feminist hell upon herself in 1992</a> when she wrote an editorial challenging the Food and Drug Administration's decision to ban the manufacture of silicone breast implants. The scientific evidence wasn't there to justify the ban. She eventually wrote a book describing the fiasco: <a href="; Science on Trial: The Clash of Medical Evidence and the Law in the Breast Implant Case.</a> The scientific evidence is now in. The implants don't cause cancer or other diseases, and <a href=" FDA has lifted its ban.</a> When the data were collected, they showed that women with silicone breast implants did not suffer cancer or any other disease at a significantly higher rate than women who had not had implants. The public fear that cellphones might be causing brain tumors was first aroused not by scientists but by a talk show host. On January 23, 1993, Larry King's guest was David Reynard, who announced that he and his wife Susan had sued NEC and GTE on the grounds that the cellphone David gave Susan caused his wife's brain tumor. There was nothing but junk science to back up her claim, plus the fact that the tumor appeared near where she held the phone to her ear. She was diagnosed seven months after receiving her phone and died a few months after filing the suit. The suit was dismissed in 1995. A dozen similar lawsuits followed; all were dismissed (<a href=" href=" href=").</a> For those who think scientists and industries don't take anecdotes seriously, consider this: soon after Susan's lawsuit was dismissed the cellphone industry committed $25 million for safety studies. Many studies have been conducted over the past fifteen years and <a href=" far no evidence of a causal link between cellphones and brain cancer has been found.</a> The vaccination rate in many places has dropped significantly in many parts of the world. In my northern California university town, 40% of the kindergartners at the Davis Waldorf school are unvaccinated. In the Sacramento area, there has been a 34% increase in "personal-belief exemptions" from state-required vaccinations for kindergartners over the past four years. Statewide, the increase in waivers has been 37% over the same period. The greatest decline in vaccination rates has occurred among the wealthier and more educated segments of society (<a href=" vaccine rates fall," Sacramento Bee, 1/6/2013</a>), not because of scientific evidence that vaccines are harmful but mainly because of fear caused in large part by <a href=" of children getting autism and other neurological disorders from vaccinations</a>. Oprah Winfrey, for example, <a href=" to a systematic letter campaign from parents of kids with autism</a> to feature on her show actress Jenny McCarthy and others to share their stories about getting a vaccination and then being diagnosed with autism. This kind of <a href="2012/06/post-hoc-fallacy.html">post hoc reasoning</a> is common among those who believe anecdotes are more trustworthy than scientific studies. <a href=" studies have repeatedly found no causal connection between vaccines and autism or serious neurological disorders. </a>The benefits to members of society from universal vaccination against communicable diseases such as measles, mumps, polio, and diphtheria far outwe

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But honestly that’s quite a tall order cause this whole thing called The View From Here aka 5andapossible, aka The 5 Spot, is like whispering to your lover, “let’s make a baby,” then after surviving the labor pains of birthing said baby, raising it, chiding it, getting tired of it for being so damned needy and wanting your time and attention, going back to loving it again, and then finally having to let it go. <a href="2008/04/five-dope-girls-in-cadillac.html">I have already written</a> about the hows and the whys of the start of 5andapossible, so we shan’t go there today. But I can honestly say that three years ago when I stood in the bathroom doorway and mentioned the idea to my mother, only to be met with a confused look, followed by, “umm…ok,” when I then began asking my friends, “hey do you want to maybe write, like, this thing called a blog with me,” and then when us ladies finally gathered on that Labor Day Monday on my parents’ porch and debated blog names, pseudonyms, topics, and everything in between – I could have never, ever imagined all of this. All the LOLs. And the chuckles. And the tee hees. The endless loops of laughter. The, “I really liked your post today” from one another. The comments left from strangers and friends. The readers. The debates. The arguments. The early morning conference calls and the rules we laid down at the very beginning. HA! The fact that we would pitifully re-enact our own version of The Five Heartbeats. That we would fall in love and out of like. That we would lose jobs and gain homes. That we would have to get over that nygga and open our hearts again. That we would travel and party it up. That we would move on and learn how to keep going. That we would accept our callings and find our passions. That we would witness our first Black President and be a part of history. That our bond would be strengthened and tested. That we would dream for each other when someone was too damn tired of dreaming for herself. That we would encourage, congratulate and support. That we would share. Share our stories. Our changes. Our thoughts. Our opinions. Our flaws. Our contradictions. Our mistakes. Our tears. Our joys. Our struggles with weight, men, love, jobs, co-workers, black folk, Obama, our mamas, each other, life itself. Ourselves. We shared ourselves. And we found ourselves. We changed. Transformed. Blossomed. Grew up. Got grown. Became wiser. Rooted for each other. Got knocked on our asses. Prayed [and cried] through life’s blows. Praised God for life’s blessings. Learned lessons. Told stories. And as we prepare to enter another decade of life, we have made sure to leave room for improvement. For development. For whatever life brings next. I called my very first post, <a href="2007/10/fantastic-journey.html">A Fantastic Journey,</a> just guessing, but not truly knowing what this blog thing was going to bring. And now, three years later I can honestly say that it was the best thing for me. This pushed me towards my purpose. And I can look back over these last three years and literally chronicle my growth. My stupidity. My a-ha moments. When I felt loved. And when I was hurt. My worry. My loneliness. My struggle and determination to find my place. What brought me joy. How I got over. And moved from mama n’em’s to my own house. How you can plan, but life has other plans. And what you do next makes all the difference. And damn, how three years can really fly by if you're not paying attention. So, thanks to all the readers, the followers and the fans who have been with us during some or all of these three years – especially in the beginning when we were like, “is anybody out there?” Lol. But most importantly thanks ladies of The 5 Spot for taking the plunge, for writing [almost ;-)] every.single.week just because one day I asked you if you would, for opening up your lives and coming along for the ride. It’s been, truly, fantastic. That’s <strike>my</strike> our time y’all! Happy Rum Punch Friday!2010/10/fantastic-journey.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Rum Punch)31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617426134849640048.post-272035037017822344Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:47:00 +00002010-10-01T08:35:54.380-04:00growthlovereflectionsaying goodbyebetter late than neverfor the past few months it's been damn near impossible for me to post here.  not for a lack of thoughts and feelings swirling through my head.  not because there hasn't been plenty work dramer to editorialize.  but mostly because i didn't have time.  or i didn't make the time.  seemed like most thursdays of late i had something better to do or somewhere better to be.  and now that we've come to the last post, i regret not having posted on those thursdays past.  because now there won't be anymore thursdays here. as i looked over the 200 pages or so of what i've written here, i'm amazed at the things that i've shared.  at the secrets i've let slip.  at the raw emotions that i've expressed.  and i am forever grateful for the opportunity to have written here.  to have opened myself up to you, our anonymous 10 to 20 regular readers.  shouts out to mrs. meany for always reading and commenting and to that other girl from jersey for never commenting but always reading! when we started out, i thought i'd write about legal things since that's what i do for a living.  but actually law related topics took up only a small portion of what i've contributed here.  it wasn't until amaretto shouted me out on wednesday  "<a href="2010/09/this-is-it.html">for always defending love in all it’s forms!</a>" that i thought ahhh yes, love is the thing! it's the thing i struggle with expressing some times with friends and family.  it's the thing i hold on to so tight for fear that if i let it show, i will lose it, lose myself.  it's the thing i so often wish i'd said in that moment when i felt most angry or sad or overjoyed.  but that i held inside and thought about over and over again after i walked away. the beauty of the 5spot is that it has allowed me to show it. even on my perpetually delayed timing.  whatever i have been through, if it stuck with me, kept me up at nights, made me want to tell somebody about it, i could do it here.  i could sit down, think it over, read it back to myself and realize what my true feelings were about it.  and then hit post. so thank you 5spot.  thank you dark&stormy, couvoisier, amaretto, bellini and rum punch.   thank you for putting up with my quirky inability to capitalize properly.  thank you for reading even when i wasn't quite on schedule, but always on time. i love ya'll!2010/09/better-late-than-never.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617426134849640048.post-7752804318670007392Tue, 28 Sep 2010 22:00:00 +00002010-09-28T18:00:01.609-04:00This Is It!This has to be one of the hardest posts I have ever written. Three years ago I sat at a similar work computer trying to come up with the words that would introduce Amaretto Jenkins to the blog world and <a href="2007/10/its-not-about-money-your-momma-or.html">this</a> is what I came up with. Egads! It’s like looking at my 7th grade school picture, complete with lopsided ponytail, acne and braces! Sure it’s cute-ish but thank goodness for time changing things! But I have certain fondness for my Cups Can Save Relationships post because it was the first one I had ever done. And not saying that this will be my last post ever-it will be my last one here *sniffle* and I feel like I should leave our loyal lone reader with something they can ponder in their mind and heart long after we shut the 5 Spot down. But boo hiss, nothing profound is coming to me! Today’s highlights have been getting cupcakes from <a href=" style="color:#ffcc33;">the cupcake truck that rolls around DC</a>. And, my coworker telling me that if the man she is dating had to go to the hospital today she wouldn’t know about it because his wife would be called instead of her. Ha ha ha! It’s not as random as it sounds ya’ll, she said he was sick last night. But is any of this blog worthy? And yet that is the most wonderfulest thing about blogging! I could write whatever I wanted, whether folks agreed or even understood my view from here. This place has been where I have been able to sign on to talk foolishness, share my concerns, report some of <a href="2009/03/did-i-do-that.html">my wonderful world of working missteps</a>, find racism in the most basic of conversations and put some of my friends on blast by telling their business-only after I finessed some things Amaretto J. style to protect the innocent and guilty alike. And it’s been fun ya’ll! Well sometimes it was more like Dang is it Tuesday already?! And I’d give evil virtual glances at Mint and Rum because they chose the latter days of the week when we were in the planning phase of this project…not that it matters because 7 days is 7 days-but it just seemed like they had more time. Dark & Stormy and Courvoisier know what I mean! But I’ve truly enjoyed reporting how I’m navigating my twenties with all it’s challenges (men folks), hopes (mo money please), fears (will I be the cat lady?) and debt (student loans suck)! And because I was accountable to 4 other people, blogging didn’t fall by the wayside (often), like when I attempted to keep my own diary. But with 30, Lord willingly, looming within next calendar year I think I need to write down my thoughts somewhere so I can reflect on the younger Amaretto, or at least have something to do and read when I’m bored at work. It’s funny, in the ironic way, because I stayed having writer’s block-like every week! Yet it seems like there are so many things that I could and should write about. Like that cute baby I saw at church. Or laughing at season one of the Boondocks cause my friend got it on bootleg. Or how I contemplated stealing my neighbor’s cute little doggie yesterday. And what is going to happen to Bracky in 2012? What will I watch at 4pm after Oprah is gone? And I know you just want to know what I would do if the government ever gave me 40 acres and a mule! Oh, this life is filled with the mundane and the insane alike, but there just isn’t enough time to share it all. And with that said I leave showcasing just a few of my favorites from my co-laborers… To Dark & Stormy, for getting my week started with a laugh! Thank you! <a href="2007/12/ready-to-rumble.html">2007/12/ready-to-rumble.html</a> <a href="2008/04/brother-do-right.html">2008/04/brother-do-right.html</a> To Bellini, for being my Wednesday morning Meet the Press! Thank you! <a href="2008/07/state-of-affairs-volii-education.html">2008/07/state-of-affairs-volii-education.html</a> <a href="2008/11/he-ran-boston.html">2008/11/he-ran-boston.html</a> To Mint Julep, for always defending love in all it’s forms! Thank you! <a href="2009/03/just-in-case-you-were-wondering-i-love.html">2009/03/just-in-case-you-were-wondering-i-love.html</a> <a href="2009/04/one-mogin.html">2009/04/one-mogin.html</a> To Courvoisier, I know it wasn’t easy, but I loved your honest insights! Thank you! <a href="2009/11/everybody-is-healing.html">2009/11/everybody-is-healing.html</a> <a href="2010/08/frowned-upon-but-exhilarating.html">2010/08/frowned-upon-but-exhilarating.html</a> And To Rum Punch, this was such a great idea girlfriend! To a lifetime of brilliance! <a href="2007/11/im-not-your-superwoman.html">2007/11/im-not-your-superwoman.html</a> <a href="2008/04/five-dope-girls-in-cadillac.html">2008/04/five-dope-girls-in-cadillac.html</a> So with that I say thank you to all! And a special thanks to our lone loyal reader for enduring when I stepped up on this soapbox and shared. Maybe in our forties we’ll all come back as Starbuck’s coffee drinks to share our views from there. Until then, See You In… Well, until we meet again!2010/09/this-is-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amaretto)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617426134849640048.post-2617515367544614233Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:57:00 +00002010-09-27T23:39:54.194-04:00This Whole Experience...And now it is time to say good bye to all our company, M-I-C... see you real soon, K-E-Y, why? because we like you. (chuckle) For four weeks, I have been dreading this post because what I am suppose to say... for minute I thought it would probably be best to just post as normal about some arbitrary topic. It wasn't until I was driving home from DC that I realized... I can't do that! That would diminish the importance of this experience. Because when I really started to think about this whole experience, I thought "WOW! Since I have been spitting my thoughts every Monday, I have managed to become friends with some amazing gals!" I went from only knowing only 2 of the 5 and the possible to getting to know 3 other great women, who were going through some of the same craziness that I was going through. It is funny how you find comfort in numbers. Something that started off as just a way get some feelings out, say a few things, talk some ish on a Monday... almost became like sunday brunch with your gal pals. It was like going out for drinks Sex in the City style, well you know without the drinks, the heels, you get my drift? Like late night sleep overs that we don't really do anymore because we grown a$$ women unless we sharing a hotel room, that we wish we still did. I never was one for sororities but was always a fan of the sisterhood once all the hazing was done. And that is exactly how I feel about my chicas at 5 and a possible. We may not all live in the same city or even chit chat with each other on the phone, but when we are in the each other's area... we always say whatsup! What's up? I can't speak for the other days of the week but I know that some how from just writing my thoughts and feeling out every week, reading and commenting your thoughts every week has some how drawn us together as friends. Which I have to admit is pretty awesome considering, I was reminded the other day that once you are past a certain age, you don't really make a lot of friends that will eventually become close friends. And I am going to have to agree. This whole experience has been a GREAT one! Love you guys.... MUCH LUV and PEACE!!2010/09/this-whole-experience.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617426134849640048.post-295356519723837159Fri, 24 Sep 2010 04:00:00 +00002010-09-24T00:23:37.142-04:00lifewomenworkA Meeting in the Ladies RoomDid y’all know that Questlove and Black Thought of the incredible Roots crew don’t really like each other? Yes, apparently Things Fall Apart was more than an album title – it describes their relationship. They got into a fistfight whilst overseas in like 1997 or 98 and have never been cool since. But obviously, professionally, they can come together to get the job done. And make that money, honey. I thought of this when I was watching one of the greatest shows ever – aka Unsung! (On TVone for those of you who don't know). And they were focusing on Klymaxx, the all female band. Basically after years of struggling and putting out albums that went nowhere, they finally caught their big break, had some major hits and then…things fell apart. There were hurt feelings. And backstabbing. And votes to kick people out the group being taken behind folks back. And people being put out the group. It was a HUGE mess. And it all boils down to the fact that women don’t like confrontation. Don’t want to be honest with each other. Can’t say to someone’s face, “I know you the lead singer, but your swole pregnant ass can’t be up here on stage with us anymore. And we definitely ain’t gon’ be totin no baby round on the road.” Yes, it sounds harsh. But better to get it out now, instead of having things implode later. So, admittedly, I have been watching Jersey Shore on MTV (well up until like two weeks ago before life got hectic). Yes, there will be time for you to judge me later. Anyway. One of the roommate’s on again, off again boyfriend who also lives in the house with them was going to the club and kissing other girls. Two other chicks in the house knew this. The chick kept asking them what he was doing at the club. They kept being evasive. And then came up with the brilliant plan to write her a letter detailing his transgressions. As if she wouldn’t know it was her. But anyone with sense who was watching (but why would you watch if you had sense) was probably like me, screaming at their TV, and being like, “JUST BE A GROWN WOMAN ABOUT YOURS AND TELL HER THE TRUTH!” And then let the chips fall where they may. Let her pick up the pieces. Let her confront him. But be woman enough to have truth as the starting place. I’m sure there is some research about women’s brains and biological make-up that I could find if it weren't so late that would say that we are “wired” to be more emotional vs. logical. And all that jazz. But I wonder how much farther along we could be as a gender if we put emotions aside, didn't take things so personal, and just got the job done.As someone who works in an organization that is 99.9% (white) women, I've witnessed up close - the sidesteps, the pleasantries, the frenemies, the smile in your face talk bout you while you walk away, the <strike>under</strike> non performing co-workers who are kept on because managers are too nice and don't want to do the dirty work and fire anyone. And I've seen black women (myself included) try to take the more direct approach, to call 'em out on their bullish, only to be labeled as angry, threatening, non cooperative. And it's a frustrating existence filled with lots of what the fuss! So maybe this is women's lot in life. To be too nice. To care too much about what others think. To be unable to dislike and still work beside each other. But I hope not.I hope we can raise up a generation of girls who become women, who can look each other in the eye, speak their mind, keep it honest, and then either walk away or work it out - from the board room to ladies room. That's my time y'all! Happy Rum Punch Friday! <object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object>2010/09/meeting-in-ladies-room.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Rum Punch)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617426134849640048.post-8297780561181797892Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:57:00 +00002010-09-24T06:26:23.659-04:00life lessonsPlanningwork dramafinding what matters6 months ago, i hated where i worked.  really hated it.  i loved what i was doing but i hated the environment: a poorly managed frat house masquerading as a non-profit organization.  and so i did what i always do when i start to hate my environment.  i look for the next exit.  the quickest out.  i sent out a few resumes and prayed for a change.  i complained to rum punch and mentally checked out of the office. and then nothing happened.  there was no quick escape hatch.  no job opportunities forthcoming.  and i realized i was stuck.  at least for the immediate future.  before when i wanted an out, i found one within a few months.  but the economy had other plans.  God had other plans.  i had to deal with my environment in a totally new way.  putting the people aside, why was i here?  why did i come here?  to try cases and to help people fight off the oppressive weight of the criminal justice system.  and that's what i needed to do.  focus on those 2 things.  do those and nothing else.  become so good at those things that they couldn't tell me nothing.  tune out everything and everyone else. now this hasn't been easy because my work environment is full of bitchassness and incompetence.  i curse a lot of people out in my mind.  i send sarcastic yet polite emails to all that highlight the ridiculousness that is office (mis)management.  i pretty much do my thing and keep it moving. and this week i did my thing really well.  i had trial every day of the week and despite a brief moment of doubt (and a few unnecessary tears) i prevailed.  my clients prevailed.  it was the most exciting, exhilarating and mentally exhausting week of my career.   and i loved it.  i love what i do.  and that's the most important thing.2010/09/finding-what-matters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617426134849640048.post-8215172455475085462Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:30:00 +00002010-09-22T11:30:01.316-04:00Boris Kodjoeespionagereality tvUndercoversUndercoversyaaaayyy.. it's humpday wednesday... and to get me through the day NBC will debut "Undercovers". Now if you know nothing else Bellini is a renaissance woman - check the bio to the right. And loves the underground. So the series debut of '<a href="; has me piqued because the premise is intriguing bump what the NY Times wrote i would link it- but I ain't trying to dignify simple s***. considering I visited the International Spy Museum not too long ago - I am a primed spectator for this event. And it doesn't hurt that Boris is a decent actor evident by 'Soul Food' Showtime series. Sorry don't know much about the British actress, Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Please watch, especially if it's good. There is a dearth of good television and this may ameliorate current conditions, until the 'The Game' is back! back to Undercovers The series premise led by two black espionage agents, Steven (Boris Kodjoe) and Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) Bloom own Bloom Catering and rejoin the CIA posing as caterers. OMG, there are so many story plots that can evolve from this situation. JJ Abrams do not screw this up. You know for the most part most television series based on espionage have been pretty good (i.e. 'Alias', '24', 'The Unit' and I slept on the Unit and it was too late!). Anyhoo - you should be in for a treat. Don't forget to tell me what you think. cheers, Bellini P.S. sorry about not providing the post on Chancellor Rhee and DC education, i need a raincheck2010/09/undercovers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Bellini)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-617426134849640048.post-1535592842026360372Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:30:00 +00002010-09-22T05:25:21.667-04:00FearsHopeliving lifevictoryFinishing the RaceIt might be because the seasons are changing, or the fact that we will soon be signing off the 5 spot, but I find myself wondering “What’s next?” You know what I mean? Think about all the things you have planned for yourself, from the initial formation of an idea to finally accomplishing what you set out to do. It’s quite a consuming and often laborious process. I remember during my senior year so much of my time, money and energy went into preparing for prom. There was finding a dress, finding a date, finding a limo, who’s going to chip in and pay for the limo, where are we eating dinner, who’s going to fix my hair and do my make-up? And then after months of preparation it was over. Just like that. There were so many things that needed to be taken care of! All this for just one night of my life! And what came next? Well graduation, college, and life- with all of it’s bells and whistles, highs and lows, joys and sorrows. My pastor preached an excellent sermon a few weeks ago about answered prayers and it had me floored. I won’t get all preachy with ya’ll but he talked about a couple who had prayed for a child for years and years, had defined and even labeled their lives as the childless old couple. But when they finally conceived a child, and stood face to face with no longer being barren, but fruitful parents-they didn’t know how to act. I was on the floor because initially I was like how could they react anyway other than with joy?! But then I got to thinking about myself. Much of my twenties have been marked by, and dare I say I let these twenties be defined by my situations. The money I didn’t have, the debt I did have, the degrees I didn’t have, the job I wanted, the spouse I didn’t have and on and on. And now that I am at a point where things have changed, I don’t know how to act! What is one to do when once heavy burdens are lifted, and dreams are realized and promises fulfilled? It’s almost like when the slaves toiled in the South, were abused by their captors, fought for a freedom they had distantly hoped for and when they

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Beyond Borders Connecting people, bridging cultures Mon, 28 Oct 2019 20:13:03 +0000 en hourly 1 wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Favcon.png Beyond Borders 32 32 Let’s Learn How to Convert Blog Posts into Videos—The Easy Way! translation-and-digital-marketing-agency/ translation-and-digital-marketing-agency/#respond Thu, 24 Oct 2019 15:10:35 +0000 ?p=1230 Everyone loves watching videos. According to YouTube’s official blog, 1 billion hours of video content is consumed daily by users worldwide. And everyone loves sharing videos. 92 percent of mobile video viewers share videos with others. No doubt video marketing holds immense promise for marketers and businesses irrespective of the industry they operate in. Producing The post Let’s Learn How to Convert Blog Posts into Videos—The Easy Way! appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> Everyone loves watching videos. According to YouTube’s official blog, 1 billion hours of video content is consumed daily by users worldwide. And everyone loves sharing videos. 92 percent of mobile video viewers share videos with others. No doubt video marketing holds immense promise for marketers and businesses irrespective of the industry they operate in. Producing video content is a challenge though. You first need an idea around which you can structure the content, and once you have it, you then need to spend hours recording and editing it, before you finally have a video which you can then share with your audience. In this article, however, you’ll learn to create and produce video content the easy way. The idea: You’ll be using your blogs as a content source and some free and easy to use tools to convert those blog posts into professional videos. Are you ready to learn? The first step… First of all, you need to search through your blog resources and find an evergreen post. This blog should contain useful and helpful information for your audience. Once you have identified the blog that you would like to convert into a video, review it and note down its key points. Copy those key points in a separate document. Step two: Find images that resonate with the concept of your blog Next, find some royalty-free images to go with the key points that you have copied. You can find royalty free images from sites such as Pexels, Stock Up and Unsplash. You can also Google royalty free images. Save them with their links—in some cases you might have to download the image. Step three: Create a presentation After you have gathered all the content for your video, you then need to create a presentation out of it. You can use MS PowerPoint, Google Slides or any other presentation maker that you prefer to use. The advantage of using MS PowerPoint though is, it allows you to retain any special effects that you may choose to deploy within your slideshow when producing video. You may not have this option with other presentation makers—not at least with Google Slides. Use following guidelines for help when creating the presentation: If possible, use a theme that resonates with your company’s brand colors Keep the word limit to 10 to 15 words for every slide Use images on slides (where found appropriate) Slides should be displayed with 4-to-6-second increments—audience doesn’t like to spend too much time on a single slide Step four: Convert your slideshow into video Once you are done with the presentation, save the file and use an online converter to convert it into a video file. There are many online tools available on the internet for file conversion. Online Convert is a great tool for the purpose. It is free and simple to use. Simply upload your file, select “YouTube – keep dimensions” as a preset option from the Preset menu. Keep other settings at default and hit convert. You now have a video that you can share with your audience. But hold your horses… ***If you intend to use Microsoft PowerPoint to create a slideshow, you don’t have to use any software for file conversion—PowerPoint allows you to export your presentation file as a video file. Step five: Mash your video with some music Your video is incomplete; you should consider adding music to it. Where required, you may also add audio narrations. You can find royalty-free music files at HookSounds and Bensound. For audio narrations, you can record them manually. To incorporate these two files into your video file, you’ll need a video editing software. You can use HitFilmExpress as it is free and works on both Windows and Mac. Or, if you want something exclusive for your macOS, you can consider iMovie. Import the audio narration and music file into the software and edit your video file accordingly. Save the video file and upload it on your social media profiles. Watch your traffic and conversions go wild! About 5 Continents 5 Continents is a leading translation and digital marketing agency that provides services to the business world to help them expand their digital reach. The agency provides accurate translations and audio narration solutions in more than twelve international languages. For more details call 1-877-574-2407 or email at service@5ctranslations.com The post Let’s Learn How to Convert Blog Posts into Videos—The Easy Way! appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> translation-and-digital-marketing-agency/feed/ 0 How These Three Stages of the Buying Process Can Help You Improve Global Selling how-these-three-stages-of-the-buying-process-can-help-you-improve-global-selling/ how-these-three-stages-of-the-buying-process-can-help-you-improve-global-selling/#respond Fri, 01 Mar 2019 07:00:22 +0000 ?p=1114 [:en]How much do you know your customer? Are you providing the right content for your target audience? In this blog post, we will share with you the basics of the three stages of a buyer to help you map out a content strategy for your multilingual website. Sometimes, all it takes is knowing where they The post How These Three Stages of the Buying Process Can Help You Improve Global Selling appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> [:en]How much do you know your customer? Are you providing the right content for your target audience? In this blog post, we will share with you the basics of the three stages of a buyer to help you map out a content strategy for your multilingual website. Sometimes, all it takes is knowing where they are in the journey – awareness, consideration, or decision – to help you come up with the right content and localization strategies to grow your business. However, this is not an overnight work. It might take time and the process itself will also help you assess where you are as a global company. What is the Buyer’s Journey? The Buying Process or the Buyer’s Journey as it’s often used a term in the marketing and business includes the stages of a buyer whenever they come across your brand – perhaps, a new service or product. It’s important to know the buyer’s journey because it will “help you understand your customers (and prospective customers) better” as HubSpot put it. “This makes it easier for you to tailor your content, messaging, product development, and services to the specific needs, behaviors, and concerns of different groups.” It’s often used in the inbound marketing strategy where global marketers analyze the path of the buyer in order to come up with targeted content to nurture them and provide what they need. For more information, you can visit this Buyer’s Persona Research guideline. 3 Stages and What You Need to Know for Each One #1 Awareness Stage Your buyer just realized the need for your products and services. One of the most effective ways to bump into your global website is via search engines like Google. If you have a multilingual website that is also optimized with well-research keywords in the different languages, then you’re likely tapping their “awareness” stage. Your potential buyers at this stage are searching for information to answer their questions or resolve their pain points in the business. Your action plan: You should provide content that is fairly neutral content to provide ideas, solutions, and find their purpose. This may include educational content such as blog posts, voice-over videos, e-guides, e-books, and industry reports, that are also translated and localized in their language. #2 Consideration Stage The secret to nurturing buyers in the Awareness stage is to provide the right content that will match the specific needs without being too pushy or aggressive. And once you achieve that, those buyers may have this defined goal where they start evaluating the products or services that are available. Running a multilingual website means you still deliver informative content but giving them a few subjective pieces of information to help them decide. Your action plan: You may want to provide videos or podcasts in a specific region with voice-overs in their language. Perhaps, a service comparison or product reviews—content that should also be translated and localized, with an objective—to help them make a decision. #3 Decision Stage You are lucky enough if a buyer is already in his or her post-decision stage, ready to pay for your products or service after visiting your website. And that rarely happens, unless they have probably heard you from their friends or by recommendation, and it still depends on the industry. For example, a buyer who has heard good reviews about this villa or hotel from his friends who also check-in to that place may likely directly go to the website and book instantly. However, this may not be the case, especially in B2B (Business-to-Business) sector. It might take time for the buyer to be in this stage or has spent in the two previous stages, reviewing or consuming content, and finally has decided to take action. The buyer has finally discovered and decided on a service—perhaps a solution that you offer to address a specific need. Your action plan: At this stage, the buyer may still spend time reading and exploring other options to validate the decision to avail the service or product. A well-translated document about your product in the language he understands is crucial at this stage. You may also want to provide the pros and cons of services, and you have an edge to be a leader in your industry. Keep in mind that building the Buyer’s Persona is constant work. As you get to know your target audience, you may want to add and develop personas, allowing you to develop translation and localization strategies as well. If you need help, let us know and we’ll be happy to assist you. [:de]How much do you know your customer? Are you providing the right content for your target audience? In this blog post, we will share with you the basics of the three stages of a buyer to help you map out a content strategy for your multilingual website. Sometimes, all it takes is knowing where they are in the journey – awareness, consideration, or decision – to help you come up with the right content and localization strategies to grow your business. However, this is not an overnight work. It might take time and the process itself will also help you assess where you are as a global company. What is the Buyer’s Journey? The Buying Process or the Buyer’s Journey as it’s often used a term in the marketing and business includes the stages of a buyer whenever they come across your brand – perhaps, a new service or product. It’s important to know the buyer’s journey because it will “help you understand your customers (and prospective customers) better” as HubSpot put it. “This makes it easier for you to tailor your content, messaging, product development, and services to the specific needs, behaviors, and concerns of different groups.” It’s often used in the inbound marketing strategy where global marketers analyze the path of the buyer in order to come up with a targeted content to nurture them and provide what they need. For more information, you can visit this Buyer’s Persona Research guideline. 3 Stages and What You Need to Know for Each One #1 Awareness Stage Your buyer just realized the need for your products and services. One of the most effective ways to bump into your global website is via search engines like Google. If you have a multilingual website that is also optimized with well-research keywords in the different languages, then you’re likely tapping their “awareness” stage. Your potential buyers at this stage are searching for information to answer their questions or resolve their pain points in the business. Your action plan: You should provide content that is fairly neutral content to provide ideas, solutions, and find their purpose. This may include educational content such as blog posts, voice-over videos, e-guides, e-books, and industry reports, that are also translated and localized in their language. #2 Consideration Stage The secret to nurturing buyers in the Awareness stage is to provide the right content that will match the specific needs without being too pushy or aggressive. And once you achieve that, those buyers may have this defined goal where they start evaluating the products or services that are available. Running a multilingual website means you still deliver informative content but giving them a few subjective pieces of information to help them decide. Your action plan: You may want to provide videos or podcasts in a specific region with voice-overs in their language. Perhaps, a service comparison or product reviews—content that should also be translated and localized, with an objective—to help them make a decision. #3 Decision Stage You are lucky enough if a buyer is already in his or her post-decision stage, ready to pay for your products or service after visiting your website. And that rarely happens, unless they have probably heard you from their friends or by recommendation, and it still depends on the industry. For example, a buyer who has heard good reviews about this villa or hotel from his friends who also check-in to that place may likely directly go to the website and book instantly. However, this may not be the case, especially in B2B (Business-to-Business) sector. It might take time for the buyer to be in this stage or has spent in the two previous stages, reviewing or consuming content, and finally has decided to take action. The buyer has finally discovered and decided on a service—perhaps a solution that you offer to address a specific need. Your action plan: At this stage, the buyer may still spend time reading and exploring other options to validate the decision to avail the service or product. A well-translated document about your product in the language he understands is crucial at this stage. You may also want to provide the pros and cons of services, and you have an edge to be a leader in your industry. Keep in mind that building the Buyer’s Persona is a constant work. As you get to know your target audience, you may want to add and develop personas, allowing you to develop translation and localization strategies as well. If you need help, let us know and we’ll be happy to assist you.[:ar]How much do you know your customer? Are you providing the right content for your target audience? In this blog post, we will share with you the basics of the three stages of a buyer to help you map out a content strategy for your multilingual website. Sometimes, all it takes is knowing where they are in the journey – awareness, consideration, or decision – to help you come up with the right content and localization strategies to grow your business. However, this is not an overnight work. It might take time and the process itself will also help you assess where you are as a global company. What is the Buyer’s Journey? The Buying Process or the Buyer’s Journey as it’s often used a term in the marketing and business includes the stages of a buyer whenever they come across your brand – perhaps, a new service or product. It’s important to know the buyer’s journey because it will “help you understand your customers (and prospective customers) better” as HubSpot put it. “This makes it easier for you to tailor your content, messaging, product development, and services to the specific needs, behaviors, and concerns of different groups.” It’s often used in the inbound marketing strategy where global marketers analyze the path of the buyer in order to come up with a targeted content to nurture them and provide what they need. For more information, you can visit this Buyer’s Persona Research guideline. 3 Stages and What You Need to Know for Each One #1 Awareness Stage Your buyer just realized the need for your products and services. One of the most effective ways to bump into your global website is via search engines like Google. If you have a multilingual website that is also optimized with well-research keywords in the different languages, then you’re likely tapping their “awareness” stage. Your potential buyers at this stage are searching for information to answer their questions or resolve their pain points in the business. Your action plan: You should provide content that is fairly neutral content to provide ideas, solutions, and find their purpose. This may include educational content such as blog posts, voice-over videos, e-guides, e-books, and industry reports, that are also translated and localized in their language. #2 Consideration Stage The secret to nurturing buyers in the Awareness stage is to provide the right content that will match the specific needs without being too pushy or aggressive. And once you achieve that, those buyers may have this defined goal where they start evaluating the products or services that are available. Running a multilingual website means you still deliver informative content but giving them a few subjective pieces of information to help them decide. Your action plan: You may want to provide videos or podcasts in a specific region with voice-overs in their language. Perhaps, a service comparison or product reviews—content that should also be translated and localized, with an objective—to help them make a decision. #3 Decision Stage You are lucky enough if a buyer is already in his or her post-decision stage, ready to pay for your products or service after visiting your website. And that rarely happens, unless they have probably heard you from their friends or by recommendation, and it still depends on the industry. For example, a buyer who has heard good reviews about this villa or hotel from his friends who also check-in to that place may likely directly go to the website and book instantly. However, this may not be the case, especially in B2B (Business-to-Business) sector. It might take time for the buyer to be in this stage or has spent in the two previous stages, reviewing or consuming content, and finally has decided to take action. The buyer has finally discovered and decided on a service—perhaps a solution that you offer to address a specific need. Your action plan: At this stage, the buyer may still spend time reading and exploring other options to validate the decision to avail the service or product. A well-translated document about your product in the language he understands is crucial at this stage. You may also want to provide the pros and cons of services, and you have an edge to be a leader in your industry. Keep in mind that building the Buyer’s Persona is a constant work. As you get to know your target audience, you may want to add and develop personas, allowing you to develop translation and localization strategies as well. If you need help, let us know and we’ll be happy to assist you.[:] The post How These Three Stages of the Buying Process Can Help You Improve Global Selling appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> how-these-three-stages-of-the-buying-process-can-help-you-improve-global-selling/feed/ 0 Top Content Marketing Lessons to Implement In Your Strategy content-marketing-lessons/ content-marketing-lessons/#respond Wed, 19 Dec 2018 18:05:31 +0000 ?p=1156 When it comes to digital marketing, the old adage ‘content is king’ still holds true. Simply put, content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to an audience. From videos to infographics, marketers are looking for ways to improve their content and provide value. The more authentic and engaging The post Top Content Marketing Lessons to Implement In Your Strategy appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> When it comes to digital marketing, the old adage ‘content is king’ still holds true. Simply put, content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to an audience. From videos to infographics, marketers are looking for ways to improve their content and provide value. The more authentic and engaging your content, the better are its chances of making an impact. Here are some of the top content marketing strategies to employ in your digital marketing campaign: Have Engagement Goals First up, you need to define your engagement objectives. What would engaging look like? Would it be people sharing your Instagram photos or would it be people signing up for your monthly newsletter? Make sure you define these KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). These will serve as benchmark for your content marketing efforts. Look to Target Personas Instead of Demographics Although gender, location and age are important factors to know about a person, you surely need to go deeper before creating content for them. This is where persona comes in. It includes a person’s likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, fears, and so on. Knowing that your audience loves sports and are early tech adopters will help you create a more nuanced content marketing strategy. By understanding your audience’s persona, you can create content that really clicks with them. Use Humor Humor can be a great marketing strategy. Not only will it give a human touch to your brand, it will also be a great way to engage with them. Generally, businesses are throwing statistics or sales pitches to people, humor can be your chance of doing something different. However, make sure that you are very thoughtful about it and do not offend anyone. Take Full Advantage of the Social Media Platform Ignoring the social media platform would be naïve in this digital landscape. You need to create content for different social media posts. Whether you have written an informative blog piece or created some amazing visuals, you need to share it on your social media pages. Be a Great Storyteller Today’s marketing is all about storytelling. Your brand’s message should connect with the audience. From making a video about what a typical day at your office looks like to telling about the history of a product you sell, make sure that your content resonates with the targeted audience. 5 Continents is an online marketing and business consultancy agency that provides translation, localization and digital marketing services in many languages including German, Hebrew, Korean, Turkish, Spanish, Chinese, etc. Take a look at some of the incredible work they have done.[:] The post Top Content Marketing Lessons to Implement In Your Strategy appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> content-marketing-lessons/feed/ 0 Looking to Go Digital in France? Here’s Why French Translation Would be the Key to Your Digital Marketing Strategy french-translation-key/ french-translation-key/#respond Wed, 19 Dec 2018 17:44:03 +0000 ?p=1150 France is seeing an incredible digital transformation. According to Google – the God when it comes to search – they have trained a whopping 230,000 French students in digital skills. You can guess where the trend is headed. France As a Digital Hub The digital growth in France is simply tremendous. According to the European The post Looking to Go Digital in France? Here’s Why French Translation Would be the Key to Your Digital Marketing Strategy appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> France is seeing an incredible digital transformation. According to Google – the God when it comes to search – they have trained a whopping 230,000 French students in digital skills. You can guess where the trend is headed. France As a Digital Hub The digital growth in France is simply tremendous. According to the European Commission, France is 16th on the EU Digital Economy and Society Index. With the incredible engineers and digital entrepreneurs that France has, it would not be a surprise if France starts climbing that list in the near future. In fact, according to Google, some studies suggest that France could easily get a 10 percent rise in its GDP (200 to 250 billion additional Euros) through the use of digital technology by the year 2025. French – The Language of Future? Let’s talk a bit about France’s language. For centuries in the past, French was the official language of the ‘learned man’. From aristocracy and diplomacy to culture and art, French was the ultimate language. Later on, with the advent of the Anglosphere, English became the lingua franca. However, French has still retained its value and is used as an official language in international institutions, such as UN, Olympic Committee, etc. Today, spoken by around 75 million speakers in 39 countries across the world, French is still a popular language. It has been estimated that by 2050, the number of French speakers would reach 750 million. French is growing rapidly in the sub-Sahara African region. Since Africa is expected to become a greater economic force, the signs for French growing as a leading language are very bright. Going Global in France – A Great Step Taking your business to France or any of the countries that have French as a lingua franca, such as Algeria, Morocco, Vietnam and Cambodia, can be a great step. To do that, you would need highly professional and accurate translation and localization services. From your marketing material to content on your website, you will need to ensure that your digital strategy is completely attuned to the French people’s sentiments and culture. Your digital marketing should really resonate with the audience and tell a compelling story about your brand. 5 Continents, a translation, localization and digital marketing agency, can be really helpful. With an amazing team of linguists, polyglots, professional translators, digital marketers, content writers, web designers and developers, and business consultants, they help you connect with the French audience. The post Looking to Go Digital in France? Here’s Why French Translation Would be the Key to Your Digital Marketing Strategy appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> french-translation-key/feed/ 0 Understanding Legal Translation understanding-legal-translation-3/ understanding-legal-translation-3/#respond Thu, 13 Dec 2018 18:05:31 +0000 ?p=1146 Legal translation has a make or break effect on court cases. That being said, these translations are much more challenging than other types of translation projects. It doesn’t just involve translating text from one language to another language. The reality is that law itself is a technical field. In order to get it right, legal The post Understanding Legal Translation appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> Legal translation has a make or break effect on court cases. That being said, these translations are much more challenging than other types of translation projects. It doesn’t just involve translating text from one language to another language. The reality is that law itself is a technical field. In order to get it right, legal translators must be familiar with incredibly complex and technical legal language. Apart from the language difficulties, every country has its own legal structure. A country’s culture and tradition can also shape its legal system. These factors can make legal translation very difficult. Translators must have a complete knowledge of the legal systems and terminologies between the source and target countries. It’s vital for translators to compare legal systems as well as the cultural differences of the two societies. Additionally, law is an extensive field. It includes a number of areas, such as criminal law, civil rights, corporate law, immigration law, and more. For effective legal translation, it’s important to hire a translator who specializes in your area of interest. In addition to different areas, legal documents contain significant facts. Translators must keep track of facts, figures and rules and regulations to ensure accurate, precise translations. Most importantly, legal translators handle all kinds of texts, such as identity documentation, official reports, transcripts, witness statements, wills and trusts, immigration documents, and more. Each document is translated in a different manner. Legal translation isn’t the easiest form of translation work. It requires the highest degree of knowledge, accuracy and attention to detail. In this kind of translation, there’s no room for error. The smallest of mistakes can lead to serious consequences for individuals and companies. Trusting someone with your legal translation project is an essential requirement. It’s crucial to choose a certified legal translation company that can protect the information in your legal documents. Legal documents contain personal information, including name, address, financial information, social security number, etc. of the filing party. It’s the translation company’s responsible to make sure that the documents do not fall into wrong hands. Furthermore, they must be able to deliver on time because court cases are time sensitive. If legal documents are delivered to a court on time, the court can proceed with the case. 5 Continents is a reliable translation company offering legal translation services in more than 50 international languages. Our certified, experienced legal translators are strategically located around the globe for handling high-volume, time-sensitive projects. Learn more about our legal translation service here. The post Understanding Legal Translation appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> understanding-legal-translation-3/feed/ 0 5 Ways Website Translation Can Save Your Business ways-website-translation/ ways-website-translation/#respond Thu, 13 Dec 2018 17:40:56 +0000 ?p=1142 In today’s globalized business environment with multilingual speakers, it’s extremely important for businesses to translate their websites. Website translation is imperative for your company’s existence, especially if you’re planning on going global. At some point, you may decide to enter international markets in order to expand their customer base and revenue. A multilingual website can The post 5 Ways Website Translation Can Save Your Business appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> In today’s globalized business environment with multilingual speakers, it’s extremely important for businesses to translate their websites. Website translation is imperative for your company’s existence, especially if you’re planning on going global. At some point, you may decide to enter international markets in order to expand their customer base and revenue. A multilingual website can help you sell your products abroad and increase your revenue and profit levels. Apart from allowing businesses to reach greater heights, professional website translation can benefit businesses in different ways: Improve search engine rankings First off, translating your website content can significantly boost your chances of getting better search results. The more exposure your website gets, the greater the likelihood you will attract more online users. Boost conversion rates Once your translated website starts receiving traffic from foreign speakers, you will notice higher conversion rates. Majority of online buyers prefer to buy products, especially expensive items, from websites with information in their own languages. This way, consumers can conduct proper research before anything online. If you’re reluctant to translate your whole website, make sure the main product and services pages are translated to increase conversion. Strengthen brand credibility Your website says something about your brand. In order to make a strong impression on your domestic and international target audience, invest in professional website translation. Generally speaking, a multilingual website will increase people’s trust in your brand. International consumers will be able to understand your website content and products and services. Meanwhile, domestic consumers will consider you as a reputable brand that has hit international markets. The key thing to remember is that consumers always buy from trustworthy businesses. Gain a competitive edge If your competitors do not a multilingual website, translating your website can help you stand out in the industry. Website translation can help you stay ahead of your competition. Build lasting customer relationships When translating your web content from one language to another language, make sure the translated content is accurate. Focus on offering customers personalized content so that they respond better. The translated content should resonate to foreign cultures so that international customers respond better. This will help you communicate more effectively and build long lasting ties with your international customers. Looking for a professional website translation company? 5 Continents is a reputable translation agency with certified, trained and experienced translators from around the world. Their professional translators offer customized web translation solutions to every client’s specific project needs. From translation of web texts to localization of branding, you can count on 5 Continents for all your web translation requirements. The post 5 Ways Website Translation Can Save Your Business appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> ways-website-translation/feed/ 0 Common SEO Mistakes And How To Avoid Them seo-mistakes/ seo-mistakes/#respond Wed, 28 Nov 2018 21:12:40 +0000 ?p=1137 Search engine optimization (SEO) plays an integral role in today’s competitive business environment. SEO is an essential digital marketing strategy for any business, including startups and small and medium companies. An effective SEO strategy can increase your website traffic and ranking, improve your brand visibility and increase your sales. Yet, despite its importance in lead The post Common SEO Mistakes And How To Avoid Them appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> Search engine optimization (SEO) plays an integral role in today’s competitive business environment. SEO is an essential digital marketing strategy for any business, including startups and small and medium companies. An effective SEO strategy can increase your website traffic and ranking, improve your brand visibility and increase your sales. Yet, despite its importance in lead generation and conversion, many business owners continue to make SEO mistakes that can harm their company’s website ranking. Here are some of the most common SEO pitfalls you need to avoid: SEO Mistake: Using duplicate or old content When the same web content appears on multiple locations online, it’s called duplicate content. Search engines view the use of duplicate content as an attempt to manipulate rankings. Ultimately, it can hurt a company’s website ranking and in some cases, Google may penalize the website. As Google loves fresh content, make sure that you update your blogs and website regularly time to time. Add new links, content, images, videos, etc. This will help keep the traffic flowing and increase your sales. Not using a mobile-friendly website As smartphone use continues to increase, more and more businesses are developing mobile-friendly websites. In fact, a significant percentage of your target audience is likely to use smartphones for surging online. From the perspective of search engine ranking, Google actually prefers mobile-friendly websites because they are easier to manage. Using wrong / irrelevant keywords This one is a no-brainer. SEO is all about keywords. However, choose your keywords carefully. They should be relevant to your business and do not overstuff them. Inactive social media Social media is one the most effective tools to promote your brand. If you’re not making social media to interact with your customers, you’re making a huge mistake. You do not have to use all the social media channels. Choose one or two platforms where your target audience spends a lot of time. Engage your audience by sharing fresh, insightful content and images on social media. Also, ask them for feedback or listen to their concerns and feedback. Not only is social media crucial for building brand authority and strong customer relationships, it’s a great source of web traffic. DIY approach Promoting a business is no child’s play. It requires careful planning and coordination and substantial time and money. Of course, you have the choice to hire a certified, trained and experienced digital marketing company to build your company’s online awareness and credibility. At 5 Continents, we provide smart website localization and digital marketing solutions to companies in different industries, including but not limited to education, fashion, real estate and more. From SEO to content marketing to social media marketing, we will take care of every aspect of your digital marketing campaign. Get in touch now to take your business to the next level. The post Common SEO Mistakes And How To Avoid Them appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> seo-mistakes/feed/ 0 Going Global: Multilingual Websites Basics for Businesses multilingual-websites/ multilingual-websites/#respond Wed, 28 Nov 2018 20:58:42 +0000 ?p=1134 As the world becomes more connected in the digital age, the need for multilingual websites is now more than ever. Having a multilingual website can take your brand overseas, build brand credibility and increase your revenue. However, a website reflects the identity of a brand. Therefore, when developing a multilingual website, make sure it sets The post Going Global: Multilingual Websites Basics for Businesses appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> As the world becomes more connected in the digital age, the need for multilingual websites is now more than ever. Having a multilingual website can take your brand overseas, build brand credibility and increase your revenue. However, a website reflects the identity of a brand. Therefore, when developing a multilingual website, make sure it sets you apart from your competitors. Here are some essential factors you need to consider for creating a multilingual website: Do your homework Without proper research and planning, you cannot launch a website in your native language, let alone a multilingual website. Tapping into a new in international audience is a complex task. For starters, you will need to conduct a market research on your target country to understand the buying behavior and competition prevalent there. Additionally, study the current and upcoming business trends as well as the cultural, tax and business practices. This will help you translate your website content and market your business and products more effectively. Multilingual Websites: Target languages How many languages should your multilingual website have? It’s safe to say that you should start with your target markets. These are the countries with strong demand for your products and services. Keep an eye on international market trends as well. This will help you take advantage of potential business. Monitor your website analytics in order to understand where the majority of your web users are from. Create quality content You can either translate the whole website or specific web pages. No matter what you decide, the translated content should be clear, engaging and relevant to your business. If you’re considering translating a few pages, start with the most significant content, including product and services, home page and about us. Update your website content on a frequent basis. Customers expect fresh and useful information from companies. Provide sufficient information about the features, purpose, benefits and price of your products and services. Focus on Search Engine Optimization Finally, optimize your multilingual website for search engines. Use the right keywords to increase your website traffic and ranking. Perform keyword research in the languages of your target markets. Once you have done keyword research, you can optimize the translated content. Contact a professional web translation agency Invest in website translation and localization services to reach out to your target customers. A multilingual website is a worthwhile investment for any business. To achieve substantial returns, get in touch with 5 Continents. 5 Continents offers a wide selection of language translation services, including website translation. Their web translation team comprises native speakers who have extensive experience in handling both simple and complex translation projects. Visit their website to book consultation. The post Going Global: Multilingual Websites Basics for Businesses appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> multilingual-websites/feed/ 0 How Does a Multilingual Website Affect Your Business? how-does-a-multilingual-website-affect-your-business/ how-does-a-multilingual-website-affect-your-business/#respond Tue, 30 Oct 2018 13:00:41 +0000 ?p=1117 The internet has been the default go-to place of customers to search or buy products. Whether your brand is offering services or products, investing in a multilingual website these days gives you a competitive advantage as you expand overseas. Your customer isn’t just within your proximity anymore. Once your website is live, you become a The post How Does a Multilingual Website Affect Your Business? appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> The internet has been the default go-to place of customers to search or buy products. Whether your brand is offering services or products, investing in a multilingual website these days gives you a competitive advantage as you expand overseas. Your customer isn’t just within your proximity anymore. Once your website is live, you become a global service provider or seller. Global brands like you should consider what Common Sense Advisory, a research and consulting company said after it polled out 3,002 customers in ten countries—customers spend less time during their visits in English language websites and don’t buy products that lack instructions or post-sales customer support in their native language. So, how can a multilingual website affect your business from a digital-driven perspective? #1 It helps you get more leads Global brands have to think globally and understand that not all people – or their potential visitors that could become customers – can read English. Based on the poll mentioned above, visitors less spend time during their visits, which means that if you don’t have a multilingual website, you are losing your potential customers, too. According to Kaizad Gotla, a senior Internet analyst, Nielsen/NetRatings, “The easiest opportunities are in countries where Internet usage patterns and user/site relationships are less established. Acquiring users in markets that are currently in their growth stages will lead to a loyal user base that will pay dividends for Internet companies in the future.” #2 It boosts website your website traffic Your website is your greatest asset if you want to compete and establish your brand globally. If it supports multilingual features, including localization of the structure, design, and layout, and even payment channels then you have high chances of attracting customers to visit and interact with your website. According to a study from the European Commission and Common Sense Advisory, which the participants in the research were Europeans, “Nine out of 10 Internet users said that, when given a choice of languages, they always visited a website in their own language.” #3 It builds your brand’s credibility Visitors are likely to read content on a website if it’s in their native language. If one of your goals is to educate your visitors through informational blogs or knowledge-based content, then multilingual features add credibility to your brand. For brands offering educational content such as online courses, the available languages you have on your site are likely to attract those who can read and speak it. #4 It improves SEO results If you want to target specific regions or countries, a multilingual website is a great asset as well in SEO as long as the web pages are optimized for local search engines. For example, if you are targeting the Chinese market, then your titles and meta descriptions are in Chinese and searchable on Baidu and Sogou for indexing. According to Yoast, when you make your site available in several languages you achieve these two things: You expand your potential customers and improve your chances to rank higher for a specific country and in several languages. #5 It converts visitors into customers A website with multiple languages has a higher chance of converting those visitors into loyal customers. Customers buy because they can understand the information, and are likely to trust those websites that provide content and speak to them in their native languages. Remember, if people can read, they buy. If people can understand, they trust. According to the same source from Common Sense Advisory mentioned above, the more local-language throughout the customer experience, the more it leads them to a greater likelihood of purchase. If you don’t have a multilingual website yet, let us know and we’ll be happy to help you build one from scratch. The post How Does a Multilingual Website Affect Your Business? appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> how-does-a-multilingual-website-affect-your-business/feed/ 0 Top 5 Business Languages in the Global Economy top-5-business-languages/ top-5-business-languages/#respond Sat, 15 Sep 2018 10:00:28 +0000 ?p=1104 Language is the new currency these days. Investing in learning one or two – especially now that we experience diversity in remote and in-house teams – helps you become a better communicator. In today’s thriving global economy where competence includes knowledge about the culture and language of the target audience, providing content in different languages The post Top 5 Business Languages in the Global Economy appeared first on Beyond Borders. ]]> Language is the new currency these days. Investing in learning one or two – especially now that we experience diversity in remote and in-house teams – helps you become a better communicator. In today’s thriving global economy where competence includes knowledge about the culture and language of the target audience, providing content in different languages pushes you to take your strategy to the next level. If you want to increase your global sales, you need to

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