What a loss to us all.....I am a survivor of cancer so this hit me hard.
Steven P. Jobs, the Apple Inc. chairman and co-founder who pioneered the personal computer industry and changed the way people think about technology, died Wednesday at the age of 56.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up an Apple iPhone at the MacWorld Conference in San Francisco, in this Jan. 9, 2007 file photo.
"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives," Apple's board said in a statement. "The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."
His family, in a separate statement, said Mr. Jobs "died peacefully today surrounded by his family...We know many of you will mourn with us, and we ask that you respect our privacy during our time of grief."
The company didn't specify the cause of his death. Mr. Jobs had battled pancreatic cancer and several years ago received a liver transplant.In August, Mr. Jobs stepped down as CEO, handing the reins to Tim Cook.
During his more than three decade-long career, Mr. Jobs transformed Silicon Valley as he helped turn the once sleepy expanse of fruit orchards into the technology industry's innovation center. In addition to laying the groundwork for the modern high-tech industry alongside other pioneers like Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, Mr. Jobs proved the appeal of well-designed intuitive products over the sheer power of technology itself and shifted the way consumers interact with technology in an increasingly digital world.
Unlike those men, however, the most productive chapter in Mr. Jobs' career occurred near the end of his life, when a nearly unbroken string of innovative and wildly successful products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad fundamentally changed the PC, electronics and digital media industries. The way he marketed and sold those products through savvy advertising campaigns and its retail stores, in the meanwhile, helped turn the company into a pop culture icon.
At the beginning of that phase, Mr. Jobs once described his philosophy as trying to make products that were at "the intersection of art and technology." In doing so, he turned Apple into the world's most valuable company.
After exhibiting significant weight loss in mid-2008, Mr. Jobs took a nearly six month medical leave of absence in 2009, during which he received a liver transplant. He took another medical leave of absence in mid-January without explanation before stepping down as chief executive in August.
Although his achievements in technology alone were immense, Mr. Jobs played an equally groundbreaking role in entertainment. He turned Apple into the largest retailer of music and helped popularize computer-animated films as the financier and CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, which he later sold to Walt Disney Co. He was a key figure in changing the way people used the Internet and how they consumed music, TV shows, movies, books, disrupting industries in the process.
Mr. Jobs also pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in modern business history, returning to Apple after an 11-year absence during which he was largely written off as a has-been and then reviving the then-struggling company by introducing products such as the iMac all-in-one computer, iPod music player and iTunes digital music store.
The company produces $65.2 billion a year in revenue compared with $7.1 billion in its business year ending September 1997. Apple has become one of the world's premier designers of consumer-electronics devices, dropping the "computer" in its name in January 2007 to underscore its expansion beyond PCs.
Although Mr. Jobs officially handed over the reins of the company to long-time deputy Tim Cook in August, his death nevertheless raises a high-stakes question for Apple of how the company—which has been in the vanguard of technological creativity for most of the past decade—will sustain its success without his vision and guidance. Other icons of American capitalism, including Walt Disney, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and International Business Machines Corp., experienced some transitional woes but eventually managed to thrive after their charismatic founders passed on.
But few companies of that stature have shown such an acute dependence on their founder, or lost the founder at the peak of his career. Several years after Mr. Jobs was fired from Apple in 1985, the company began a steady decline that saw it drift to the margins of the computer industry. That slide was reversed only after Mr. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997.
Mr. Jobs also leaves behind innumerable tales about his mercurial management style, such as his habit of calling employees or their ideas "dumb" when he didn't like something. He was even more combative against foes like Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. When Adobe Systems Inc. waged a campaign against Apple for not supporting Adobe's Flash video format on its iPhones and iPads in April 2010, Mr. Jobs wrote a 1,600 word essay about why the software was outdated and inadequate for mobile devices.
The CEO maintained uncompromising standards about the company's hardware and software, demanding "insanely great" aesthetics and ease of use from the moment a consumer walked into one of Apple's stylish stores. His attention to the smallest details in the development and design process were instrumental in shaping some of the most distinctive features of Apple's products, while his meticulously planned onstage demonstrations helped fuel excitement that was unmatched by his peers.
At event after event to introduce new Apple products, Mr. Jobs often puckishly proclaimed "There is one more thing" before revealing the most significant news at the very end of a speech. He enforced strict secrecy among Apple employees, a strategy that he believed heightened anticipation for upcoming Apple products.
Mr. Jobs, the adopted son of a family in Palo Alto, Calif., was born on Feb. 24, 1955. A college dropout, he established his reputation early on as a tech innovator when at 21 years old, he and friend Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer Inc. in the Jobs family garage in 1976. Mr. Jobs chose the name, in part, because he was a Beatles fan and admired the group's Apple records label, according to the book "Apple: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders" by Wall Street Journal reporter Jim Carlton.
The pair came out with the Apple II in 1977, a groundbreaking computer that was relatively affordable and designed for the mass market consumer rather than for hobbyists. The product went on to become one of the first commercially successful personal computers, making the company $117 million in annual sales by the time of Apple's initial public offering in 1980. The IPO instantly made Mr. Jobs a multimillionaire.
Not all of Mr. Jobs's early ideas paid off. Apple's Apple III and Lisa computers that debuted in 1980 and 1983 were flops. But the distinctive all-in-one Macintosh--foreshadowed in a ground-breaking TV ad inspired by George Orwell's novel "1984" that famously only aired once -- would set the standard for the design of modern computer operating systems, in which users point and click on icons with a mouse rather than typing in commands.
Even then, Mr. Jobs was a stickler about design details. Bruce Tognazzini, a former user-interface expert at Apple who joined the company in 1978, once said that Mr. Jobs was adamant than the keyboard not include "up", "down," "right" and "left" keys that allow users to move the cursor around their computer screens.
Mr. Jobs's pursuit for aesthetic beauty sometimes bordered on the extreme. George Crow, an Apple engineer in the 1980s and again from 1998 to 2005, recalls how Mr. Jobs wanted to make even the inside of computers beautiful. On the original Macintosh PC, Mr. Crow says Mr. Jobs wanted the internal wiring to be in the colors of Apple's early rainbow logo. Mr. Crow says he eventually convinced Mr. Jobs it was an unnecessary expense.
Many ideas in the Macintosh came from a visit in 1979 to Xerox Corp.'s Palo Alto Research, where Mr. Jobs saw a machine called the Xerox Alto that had a crude graphical user interface and a mouse. The episode underscored his recurring role as a refiner and popularizer of existing inventions.
"Picasso had a saying, 'Good artists copy. Great artists steal,'" Mr. Jobs said in a PBS documentary on the computer industry from the mid-1990s. "I've been shameless about stealing great ideas."
Even in his appearance, Mr. Jobs seemed to cultivate an image more like that of an artist than a corporate executive. In public, he rarely deviated from an outfit consisting of Levis jeans, a black mock turtleneck and New Balance running shoes.
As Apple expanded, Mr. Jobs decided to bring in a more experienced manager to lead the company. He recruited John Sculley from Pepsi Co. to be Apple CEO in 1983, famously overcoming Mr. Sculley's initial reluctance by asking the executive if he just wanted to sell "sugar water to kids" or help change the world.
After Apple fell into a subsequent slump, a leadership struggle led its board's decision to back Mr. Sculley and fire Mr. Jobs two years later at the age of 30. "What can I say – I hired the wrong guy," Mr. Jobs brooded in the same PBS documentary. "He destroyed everything I had spent ten years working for."
Mr. Jobs then created NeXT Inc., a closely watched startup that in 1988 introduced a distinctive black desktop computer with advanced software that was initially targeted at the academic computing market. But the machine was hobbled by its exorbitant price tag and some key design decisions, including its use of an optical disk drive and a Motorola Inc. microprocessor at a time when Intel Corp. chips and floppy drives had become the norm.
NeXT eventually stopped selling hardware and failed to make money as a software company. But its operating system would become a foundation for OS X, the software backbone of today's Macs, after Apple purchased NeXT for $400 million in December 1996.
In 1986, using part of his fortune from Apple, Mr. Jobs paid filmmaker George Lucas $10 million to acquire the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd. The company he formed out of those assets, Pixar Animation Studios, first sold hardware, then software, and later turned to feature films. Pixar went on to create a string of computer-animated hits, from "Toy Story" to 2008's "Wall-E." Mr. Jobs sold Pixar to Disney in January 2006 in a $7.4 billion deal that gave him a Disney board seat and made him the entertainment company's largest shareholder.
Meanwhile, Apple began foundering. Computers using Intel chips and Microsoft software grew to dominate the market, a trend that accelerated after Microsoft's Windows emulated many elements of the Mac's visual interface.
Apple, by contrast, had to finance both hardware and software development internally. Fewer developers of application programs created products to make the Macintosh more useful. Apple would eventually decide to license its operating system to other hardware companies, but it was too late to reverse the swing to Windows-based machines.
By 1997, Apple had racked up nearly $2 billion in losses in two years, its shares were at record lows and it was on its third CEO--Gil Amelio--in four years. Eight months after the deal to buy NeXT in December 1996, Mr. Amelio was ousted and Mr. Jobs appointed interim CEO, a title that became permanent in January 2000. One former Apple employee recalls Mr. Jobs joking soon after he returned that "the lunatics have taken over the asylum and we can do anything we want."
Mr. Jobs, who was given a salary of $1 a year along with options to Apple stock, made a series of changes that started paying off quickly. He ended the nascent software licensing program that created Mac clones, killed the struggling Newton handheld computer and trimmed a confusing array of Mac models to a handful of systems focused on the consumer market.
In May 1998, he introduced the iMac, an unusual one-piece computer that sported a colorful casing in translucent turquoise and gray. The popular machine--which sent competitors scrambling to improve their own designs—was embodied by a bold ad campaign that featured the phrase "Think Different," with the picture of one of Mr. Jobs's heroes, such as Albert Einstein and Muppets creator Jim Henson.
While shareholders cheered the changes, Mr. Jobs flexed his power on Apple's Cupertino, Calif., campus. Within months of taking over, he had replaced four of the five top executive positions with former NeXT underlings. He issued emails forbidding employees on the famously laid-back campus to bring pets to the office, smoke even in parking lots, and threatening to fire anyone caught leaking company documents.
One personal assistant became a target when he failed to arrange the installation of a high-speed digital data line to Mr. Jobs's office fast enough to suit the interim CEO. The worker said Mr. Jobs fired him for the delay, but rescinded the firing the next day after he had cooled down. (The worker ended up resigning soon afterwards).
Apple had some stumbles during Mr. Jobs's second coming, including a cube-shaped Macintosh that failed to catch on and was scrapped in 2001. The failure was one reason that Apple posted a quarterly loss and warned it would miss estimates several times in 2000 and 2001.
But big hits followed. In 2001, Apple introduced a PowerBook laptop made from titanium, a metal more frequently found in fighter airplanes. The same year, it introduced the iPod, which transformed digital music players with features such as its smooth shape and DJ-like wheel for navigating through songs. As of Sept. 2010, Apple had sold more than 275 million iPod devices since its introduction, and it has more than 70% market share in the market for digital music players.
A key differentiator was the iTunes Music Store, opened in 2003. At the time, the music industry was largely sitting on the sidelines of the digital revolution, badly wounded by illegal downloads but unable to agree on an easy, inexpensive way to sell songs online. But Mr. Jobs helped convince major record labels to sell recordings for 99 cents each, along with antipiracy restrictions that most consumers found acceptable.
The store, which has sold more than ten billion songs, became the largest music retailer in the U.S. in 2008. It also became an incentive for consumers to buy iPods because, for much of its history, songs from the iTunes store could only be downloaded to Apple's music player and not devices made by other companies.
At the same time, Mr. Jobs was building a deep bench of executives. He recruited former Compaq Computer Corp. executive Tim Cook in the late 1990s to straighten Apple's operations and promoted him over time to chief operating officer. Ron Johnson, senior vice president of Apple retail, was hired from Target Corp. in 2000 to launch Apple's stores worldwide. Apple's lead industrial designer Jonathan Ive took charge of the physical look-and-feel of the company's products and is said to share in Mr. Jobs's sensibilities about design.
In 2004, Mr. Jobs had to lean on this bench when he disclosed that he had had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas. Apple revealed the procedure in early August 2004, but a person familiar with the situation said Mr. Jobs first learned of the tumor during a routine abdominal scan nine months earlier. The board and Mr. Jobs said nothing to Apple shareholders as the Apple executive, during that time, dealt with the tumor through changes to his diet, the person said.
In June 2007, Mr. Jobs made another splash when Apple introduced the iPhone. The cellphone pushed the envelope in the mobile phone market with features that included a touch-screen interface, allowing tricks such as blowing up images by spreading a thumb and finger on the phone's surface.
Mr. Jobs was typically hands on in the creation of the iPhone. People familiar with the matter say the CEO was the one that made a decision to change the screen of the iPhone from plastic to glass after he unveiled the product at the Macworld trade show in 2007. The iPhone team scrambled to procure glass that would meet his exacting standards, so the devices could be manufactured in time for the launch, which took place just seven months later.
Despite skepticism about Apple's ability to enter an already-competitive market dominated by the likes of Research in Motion Ltd.'s Blackberry devices, Apple quickly became a force in the mobile phone market, selling 92 million iPhones as of December 2010. The product kicked into a higher gear earlier this year when Apple said it would begin selling iPhones through Verizon Wireless in addition to carrier AT&T.
Last year, Mr. Jobs also unveiled the iPad tablet computer to great fanfare, billing it as "magical and revolutionary". In the first nine months of the product's release, Apple sold 14.8 million iPads as consumers snapped them up to use as a casual multimedia device for activities such as emailing, watching video and reading. People who work closely with Mr. Jobs said the project was so important to him that he was intimately involved in its planning even while recovering from his 2009 liver transplant.
A major selling point for both the iPhone and iPad has been the App Store, which allows developers to easily make application programs that users can download for free or for a small fee; the store meanwhile has seen more than seven billion downloads as of the end of 2010.


When we see how diverse and different Jesus' table is, and how different our own group might be, we start to realize this might be harder than we thought. If we all sit down at the same table, how can we maintain unity over the long haul? How do we commit to one another when we have more differences than similarities? And why is it worth it?


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Review Title: PBS
PBS (Public Broadcasting System) features TV Shows, Movies and TV guides from around the country.
Main Category: TV Guides
All Categories: Movies & TV Shows, Catchup TV Networks, TV Channels, TV Guides, Free TV Websites, Free Movies
Visit: PBS
PBS is owned by: PBS
TV Shows on PBS: Angelina Ballerina, Animalia, Arthur, Bob the Builder, Carrier, Downton Abbey, Martha Speaks, National Geographic Specials, Postcards from Buster, Sesame Street, The Ascent of Money, The Electric Company, The Human Spark, The Magic School Bus, The War, This Old House, Time Team America
PBS app available
The PBS app offers full-length episodes streamed to your iPhone.Shows such as Frontline, Antiques Roadshow, Masterpiece, Nova and more from the PBS catalog.... More
PBS Is available in: USA
Tags: Movies & TV Shows, Catchup TV Networks, TV Channels, TV Guides, Free Movies
WorldTVPC Rating: (5.0)
PBS Review
Author: Steve Sanger - 25 Oct 2012
Streaming video is absolutely free
There are more than 20,000 videos available
There are plenty of topics to choose from
This website offers additional information by providing other resources to many educational topics these videos cover
At first you may be a bit lost deciding which video to watch
It may take a minute to understand the navigation
Quick Verdict - WorldTVPC Rating: (5.0)
The public broadcasting system website offers a large amount of streaming video that anyone can enjoy. Programming is available that is both educational as well as entertaining.
PBS, or Public Broadcasting System, is a not for profit organization that provides programming that funded by sponsorships. They also show a variety of different shows ranging from entertainment to scientific; giving them a whole range of educational appeal.
At first you may feel bombarded with tons of information, but that's just because this site has a lot to offer. The navigation will help you find your way and the search option located at the top will add to ease of use. The public broadcasting system is home to almost 60 television programs and is also responsible for countless movies and independent films. The program selection is available at the top of the websites in a drop-down menu to learn more information about these programs. These programs are also laid out by topics such as history, science, arts and entertainment, and a variety of other categories to help you find areas of interest in a much quicker way. You will also be presented with the most popular videos at a glance. Although this website provides you with much information, it is layouts in a very easy to follow manner. You will find no difficulty at all finding programming that interest you.
The public broadcasting station websites is difference from other network websites because they do not rotates older episodes off the site as they expire. It's possible to do programs that aired over a year ago in some situations. This website offers an opportunity to learn about history, science, technology, humanity, nature, and a variety of other topics by watching the programs. Additionally, as many sites take time to buffer, you will be pleased to find this website offers videos that load very quickly; there will be no lack time or video watching interruption. Furthermore, volume is significant and it is possible to watch videos in full screen mode. Further information is provided for each of these videos by providing links to background, directors, as well as other information related to the topic of the video. You can spend hours watching the programs on this website. Since public broadcasting station is funded by sponsors, viewing their programming from the site is absolutely free and there are hundreds of programs and episodes available.
The public broadcasting System Company provides almost 500 all like episodes concerning science and nature topics. Additionally, almost 300 streaming video are available as previews and trailers for upcoming shows or programs that have previously been aired. If that sounds like a lot of video, there is still more. This websites offers an additional 500 video shorts so it is possible to view smaller clips rather than full episodes. This is beneficial for learning and only parts of the program you would like to learn. You will be able to watch videos to educate yourself on weather, endangered animals, environmental issues, as well as medical videos.
Arts and entertainment is another important topic offered on the public broadcasting system website. PBS takes great pride in it offering beautifully mastered arts related programming. In fact, they offer almost 2000 videos related to the arts and entertainment industries. It's possible to watch full concerts from your favorite bands as well as Independent films produced by up-and-coming directors.
Arts and entertainment and science and nature are just the tip of the iceberg for the videos offered a on the public broadcasting system websites. They offer a number of popular topics so anyone can find videos of interest. They offer almost 2000 streaming videos in the area of home improvements. These programs cover cooking, gardening, and home repair just to name a few. This website also holds a command is history section to provide warning is in the areas of past events from all over the world. Over 2000 streaming video are available in the history section alone. Furthermore, almost 10,000 streaming video are available for news and current events all of world. You can stay up to date and what is taking place in your neighborhood and across the ocean. They also offer a very nice section on parenting and culture and society. Will program schedules are offered to you can watch programs on your own time or watch them later on the website.
After spending several hours on the public broadcasting system website, we have decided they deserved a solid five stars. The PBS television websites offers so many streaming media use that we lost count after 20,000. You will be able to spend hours were made you on interesting topics such as technology, arts and entertainment, history, current events, nature, cooking, and that is just the two the iceberg. All of these streaming videos are available to you for free at any time and at any place.
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IQL UK is the trading subsidiary of The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), the drowning prevention charity.
Through IQL UK, the leading provider of lifeguard training, there are more than 90,000 RLSS UK pool lifeguards trained in the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) and around 95 per cent of all pool lifeguards are trained by the RLSS UK. IQL UK offers a wide variety of qualifications as part of its portfolio including qualifications regulated by Ofqual.
Our regulated qualifications are reviewed, recognised and monitored by Ofqual, Qualifications Wales, CCEA Regulation in Northern Ireland and accredited by SQA Accreditation in Scotland.
Our non-regulated qualifications are certificated by RLSS UK and are not to be confused with qualifications regulated by Ofqual. All our non-regulated qualifications, certificated by RLSS UK, are held to high standards and offer industry leading skills.
If you're unsure whether your qualification is Ofqual regulated or certificated by RLSS UK, please contact customer services on 0300 3230 096 and they will be able to help you with your query.
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Owain Park
Small Ensemble (2-6 players)
Solo Works (excluding keyboard)
Chorus a cappella / + 1 instrument
Chorus and Orchestra/Ensemble
Complete Works
Listen >
Owain Park was born in Bristol in 1993. His compositions are published by Novello, and have been performed internationally by ensembles including the Tallis Scholars and the Aurora Orchestra.
While at Cambridge University he studied orchestration with John Rutter, before undertaking a Masters degree in composition. As a conductor, he maintains a busy schedule of projects with ensembles including the BBC Singers, the Academy of Ancient Music, Cappella Cracoviensis, and Cambridge Chorale.
His own vocal consort, The Gesualdo Six, tour extensively around the world and have been lauded for their interpretation of renaissance and contemporary music. Owain is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), and was awarded the Dixon Prize for improvisation, having been Senior Organ Scholar at Wells Cathedral and Trinity College Cambridge. He was a Tenebrae Associate Artist for two seasons, and has worked with ensembles including The Sixteen, Gabrieli Consort, and Polyphony.
owainpark.co.uk
FootstepsChoral
The Wings of the WindChoral
Tenebrae Choir directed by Nigel Short premièrs and tours his choral work 'Footsteps'.
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge brings 'The Wings of the Wind' on their world tour to the USA, Australia and Hong Kong.
Owain Park is no mere one-minute wonder but a composer who is going to make a very distinct mark on the British choral tradition. — Marc Rochester, Gramophone (Dec 2018)
Owain Park was born in Bristol in 1993. His works are published by Novello and have been performed internationally by ensembles including The Tallis Scholars, the Aurora Orchestra and the Norwegian Soloists' Choir. While at Cambridge University he studied composition and orchestration with John Rutter, before undertaking a Masters degree in composition under Jeremy Thurlow and Richard Causton.
Recent works include a piece for Voces8 and Rachel Podger (Antiphon for the Angels, 2018), and a set of six songs for SATB and piano for Louth Choral Society (Sing to me, winchimes, 2018). The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge included The Wings of the Wind (2015) in their tour programmes to the United States, Australia and Hong Kong, and his chamber opera The Snow Child (2016) was performed over five nights at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2017 Tenebrae Choir directed by Nigel Short premièred and toured his new choral work Footsteps. His compositions have won awards from organisations including the National Centre for Early Music (Sweet Day, 2010) and his music has been broadcast on BBC Radios 3 and 4, Classic FM, and internationally.
Owain was a chorister at St Mary Redcliffe Church in Bristol, before joining the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. He was assistant conductor of the RSCM Millennium Youth Choir before founding his own ensemble, The Gesualdo Six, who recently released their first album on Hyperion Records, English Motets, to critical acclaim. As well as directing The Gesualdo Six he maintains a busy schedule of conducting projects, working with ensembles including Cappella Cracoviensis, Cambridge Chorale and the BBC Singers. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), and was awarded the Dixon Prize for improvisation, having been Senior Organ Scholar at Wells Cathedral and Trinity College Cambridge.
The Best Recordings of 2022 from Wise Music Classical
Wise Music Classical invites you to enjoy a selection of the best recordings of 2022, featuring composers from across our international family of publishing houses.
Choral Highlights 2022
In recent months and for the season ahead the Wise Music choral catalogues are once again burgeoning with new works. There are new pieces and publications from Richard Allain, Peter Bruun, Britta Byström, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Matthew Martin, Paul Mealor, Nico Muhly, Owain Park, Joby Talbot and Judith Weir, plus new repertoire from recent Australian signing Ross Edwards.


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Rovinsky Attains Milestone Hoops Moment
Kevin Edwards
Western Wayne junior earns admission to the "1,000-Point Club"
Western Wayne struggled through an extremely difficult stretch of its 2018-19 basketball schedule, but appears to have emerged stronger for the experience.
After jetting off to a strong start, the Wildcats suffered six straight losses in Lackawanna League action and seemed headed for hoops oblivion.
However, Coach Al Semenza's squad has shown remarkable resilience in recent weeks. The 'Cats have now won four of their last five and risen above .500 for the year .
"You know, it would have been easy for these kids just to roll over and quit, but they never did," Coach Semenza said.
"I'm very proud of them They're a hard-working bunch. They're tough and resilient and I'm really excited to see what's in store for us as we come down the home stretch."
Western Wayne made Delaware Valley its latest victim. The 'Cats traveled to Milford over the weekend and battled their way to a solid 48-45 victory.
Zachary Rovinsky led the charge, rattling the rims for a game-high 26 points and celebrating a career milestone in the process.
With this win, the local lads are now 11-9 on the season and 4-7 in Division II competition.
Weather permitting, they'll be back in action Tuesday at Paupack, then close out the regular season slate Thursday at home versus North Pocono.
Opening tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Varden Garden.
In the Club
Rovinsky made Western Wayne' varsity squad as a frosh and quickly carved out a spot for himself in the starting line-up.
Zach scored 279 points as a freshman, then erupted for 325 during his sophomore season. This winter, he's tickled the twine for 406.
In addition, Rovinsky finished out the 2017-18 campaign as the leading scorer in Division II with a 17.1 ppg average.
The talented junior is looking to defend his scoring title this year, but currently trails Paupack's Elijah Rosenthal by nearly a full point, 21.1 to 20.3.
On Friday evening at Delaware Valley, Rovinsky powered his way to 26 points on the strength of 10 field goals, one trey and a perfect 3-for-3 stint at the charity stripe.
One of those free throws came midway through the third period and earned him admission to the exclusive 1,000-Point Club.
"I couldn't be happier for Zach," Coach Semenza said. "He's a fine young man and I really enjoy working with him. Zach is very coachable and he's got a fantastic work ethic.
"The bottom line is that Zach just loves to play the game. He's a very good teammate and a credit to the school and the program."
Rovinsky has evolved into one of the top scoring threats in the entire region, something that doesn't surprise his mentor at all.
"He can play inside or outside and he can attack the basket with either hand," Coach Semenza said. "Zach is very tough to guard because he's so versatile. He does whatever he can to help the team at both ends of the floor."
Solid Win
Western Wayne came out with all guns blazing in this one, building a 15-2 lead after one quarter.
However, Delaware Valley wasn't fazed. The homestanding Warriors kept their cool and slowly chipped away at this seemingly daunting margin.
DV outscored their guests 34-20 in the middle two periods and actually led 36-35 heading into the fourth.
To their undying credit, the Wildcats staged a rally of their own. Led by Rovinsky, the local lads won the final stanza by a margin of 13-8 en route to a 48-45 decision.
"I'm so encouraged by the way we've played the last couple of weeks," said Coach Semenza. "We've had to fight back and win some really close games.
"It says a lot about the quality of kids we have on this team. The thing I think I'm most impressed with is their mental toughness. They just refuse to quit."
Grant Barrios paced a balanced DV assault with 12 points. Also cracking double digits for the Warriors were Blake Gearhart (11 pts) and Jackson Shafer (10 pts).
While Rovinksy was top gun for Western Wayne, he received plenty of help from the likes of Matt Henneforth (seven pts), Zane Janiszewski (five) and Rob Carey (four).
Kobe Sauter and Scott Lewis rounded out the Wildcats' offensive assault with three points apiece.
While Wallenpaupack Area has already clinched the Division II title this year, Western Wayne still has a great deal to play for in the way of seeding for districts.
As of Monday afternoon, the 'Cats were sixth in the Class 4A power rankings (.558121), but within striking distance of fifth-seeded Tunkhannock (.573988).
The 2018-19 District Two tournament is slated to begin Wednesday, Feb. 20.
"I'm definitely excited to see what we can do," Coach Semenza said. "We're not just looking to be competitive anymore. We expect to win every time we step onto the court."


The debut disc from Vince Welnick's Missing Man Formation is a posthumous look back at the original group, which included drummer Prairie Prince as well as Zero's Steve Kimock and Bobby Vega. Prior to this release, the band had performed far too few dates, mostly along the west coast, and the subsequent personnel changes most likely were made to give Welnick more leeway in taking the band out on the road.
In a sense, this disc is also a passing of the torch. Robin Sylvester and Trey Sabatelli both provide backing vocals on this release, and they were later tapped to play bass and drums, respectively, on Missing Man Formation's last tour. Also joining the new incarnation of the group is saxophonist Bobby Strickland, who provided a delicately sweet solo to ease the transition from the space-instrumental It's Alive into True Blue.
While there's no question that the group's latest incarnation is much tighter than the line-up that appears on this disc, there's no doubt this band had that special magic right from the start. Credit is certainly due to Welnick for penning some great songs, including Golden Days and True Blue, which lovingly look back on his days as keyboardist for the Grateful Dead and his healing process after the passing of Jerry Garcia.
Kimock turns in a number of fine solos on this disc as he lets loose and allows his guitar to truly sing — something that was sadly missing from The Other Ones' tour last summer. Comparisons to Garcia are inevitable, but Kimock brings his own amazing style to the music as well, providing fluid leads that complement Welnick's vibrant piano solos and rhythmic chord progressions.
The instrumental Smog Farm, which concludes the disc, was taken from a live performance in 1996. It's a stunningly beautiful track that shows off the incredible musicianship of the original group. Had Kimock, Vega, and Prince been able to devote their full attention to this project, the musical terrain that Missing Man Formation would have traveled surely would have been phenomenal. Fortunately, the new line-up gelled quickly and has become a powerhouse force of their own. Let's hope there are many more albums and tours in this band's future.


"Orthopaedic Boxing Injuries", Rick Weinstein, M.D.
"Statues, Regulations, and the AAPRP", Bruce Spizler, Esq.
"The Show Must Go On?", Domenic Coletta, M.D.
"Pearls in Neurological Evaluation", John Stiller, M.D.
"The Pathophysiology of Close Head Injury: A Beginner's Guide to the 'Golden Hour'", Raymond Monsell, M.D.
"Ringside Medicine", Domenic Coletta, M.D.
"Boxing Should Not Be Banned", Raymond Monsell, M.D.
"The History of Boxing", Raymond Monsell, M.D.
"Sparing and Neurological Function in Professional Boxers", Stiller et al.
"Determining Brain Fitness to Fight: Has the Time Come?", Seifert, et al.
"Head Trauma in Mixed Martial Arts", Hutchinson et al.
Managing Herpes Gladitorum Outbreaks in Competitive Wrestling: The 2007 Minnesota Experience, Current Sports Medicine Reports, 2008.


Thursday Thought Starter: why consistency matters in branding. Today's video is a short note of encouragement to assure you that all the effort and work you are doing is truly making an impact and it will all come full circle one day. You got this!
New month, new theme. Every Thursday in December we're going to be talking about your brand. Today, let's focus on your brand voice and who you are. The more authentic, the better the relationship with your clients or customers.
As we are wrapping up November's focus on gratitude, we are talking about the importance of having a mindset of abundance. Too often we keep ideas to ourselves or don't follow through on inviting others into the conversation. But collaboration is important in any organization in order to grow, be innovative and celebrate success.
Walking into a group of seasoned speakers can be intimidating to say the least. But the organizers of the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference have cultivated something special - a conference where collaboration comes first.
This past October was my first time attending and presenting at the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference. From the very first moment - it was different, and that energy carried through the entire conference. During our speaker orientation it was made clear that we were family, and our goal was to be a resource for everyone who traveled to be there.
Next, we were encouraged to sign up for coaching blocks, where we could work one-on-one with conference participants and walk them through specific questions and challenges they may be facing at their organization.
If that wasn't enough, I have NEVER seen a conference app so widely used. Nearly every type of nonprofit was in attendance and there were dozens of threads occurring during the conference so that people could get together, break bread, and share stories. It was incredible.
So why is this my reflection blog and not a list of best practices? Because if you're a nonprofit professional I want to encourage you to attend next year's conference. The premise of the conference is to empower nonprofits to tell their story in a more impactful way so that you can better reach your donors and new audiences.
Whether you came my session where you learned about the connection between data and storytelling, or others where you learned about grant writing, major gifts, #GivingTuesday, and more, the focus is about impact, empowerment, and results.
This holiday weekend, we have been spending time with friends and family reflecting on the goodness of this year. Being entrepreneurs isn't for the faint of heart. It's a constant hustle. So we have made some adjustments in order to focus on the projects we are passionate about and not be constantly on the road.
The ebb and flow of life is important to lean into. We are grateful for our amazing clients who refer us to others, allow us to walk alongside them on their incredible projects and give us the opportunity to share their story.
Know that we wouldn't be where we are today without the collaborating, learning and growing we have done with you. As we take a pause for the holiday season, we are grateful for your business and your support.
Imagine you're scrolling Instagram. What brands can you recognize in an instant? Chances are posts by RED, Nike or the UN may catch your eye without even looking at the caption. Why? These brands have worked hard at branding every aspect of their organizations.
If you're considering a rebrand, don't be intimated. You don't need million dollar budgets to capture your audience's attention. You just need consistency and a clear brand vision.
Today, our goal is to equip with you six questions you should be asking if your organization is considering a rebrand.
Question 1: What does your data say?
Does your data show a sudden new wave of interest? Are you campaigns not meeting goals or previous years expectations? Are you plateauing? Once you start to spot trends in your data, you can determine whether or not a rebrand will empower you to grow and create a larger impact.
Question 2: Is your engagement plateauing?
If your supporters aren't continually supporting you or if they have lost enthusiasm, it's a good time to ask yourself why. Perhaps you're not communicating enough. Maybe your message is falling flat. Either way, a good communications strategy empowers you to gradually grow over time, so if you aren't growing and remaining stagnant, you need to figure out why.
Question 3: How are you internal communications?
This will become very important if you embark on a rebrand, as your team is your key to successfully launching a new brand, message or story. You need to get the pulse of where your team is. A strong internal team reflects externally. If you are transparent and listen to the concerns of your team - then address them before moving forward - your rebrand will be much more successful.
Question 4: What tools are at your disposal?
This is an important one. A rebrand can range from big to small and what you need may or may not extend beyond your internal capabilities. Perhaps you need an entire firm, or perhaps you have the talent on your team. Most likely, you will need a mix of outside help that comes alongside your team to get the job done. Whatever the case, set your budget so that you stay on track and focus on the elements that matter most for your organization.
Question 5: When is the last time you updated your design?
Perhaps your website isn't mobile friendly. Maybe you only post on Instagram during your fall gala and let it lay dormant the rest of the year. An updated, consistent design can go a long way to refreshing your brand.
Question 6: What is the goal of your rebrand?
This is true in all communications. It is not enough to say more engagement or more funding for programs. When you know what impact you want to make with a rebrand, you can better drive results.
In general, if you are considering a rebrand, start having conversations with your staff and key stakeholders. Look for trends and overlap in their responses and then build out a plan that empowers your team and gets you toward your ultimate goal. There are plenty of tools out there that can fit any budget. Someone may have $100,000 for a rebrand and someone else may only have $100. You have to work with what you have, but by telling an inspiring story, with a clear call to action and clean, consistent design, you'll be well on your way to elevating your impact and getting the results you aspire to.
Stefani is a strategy consultant + speaker with over a decade of experience working in the US government, international NGO space and with nonprofits. Currently on the UNDP's Roster of Communication Experts in Subsaharan Africa + recognized by HoneyBook and Rising Tide Society as 20 On The Rise for her advocacy work, Stefani is an analytical thinker and thoughtful storyteller who works with nonprofits, businesses + humanitarians to define who they are, elevate their influence and broaden their impact through strategic communications, branding + advocacy. Stefani lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, twin girls and rescue dogs.
Messaging in the nonprofit world is just as important as in corporate America. But instead of getting someone to buy a product, our goal is donor investment in our communities, our universities, our churches.
Perhaps it's a result of our narcissistic society. Maybe the blame falls on our attention-craving leaders or the rise of the selfie. Whatever the reason, it's all about ourselves—even as we help others.
But maybe harnessing the power of the good feeling isn't all bad.
A 2015 conversation with Draymond Green, the Golden State Warrior's power forward, shows the power of emotion. He pledged $3.1 million to his alma mater, Michigan State. The motivations behind his gift are self-centered yet inspiring.
A few years ago, a commercial caught my attention, and not because it was amusing or compelling, but because it was so boring. It was a campaign to stop government funding cuts to hospitals. The ad was a litany of stats: every year, 5.6 million hospital workers conduct 23 million surgeries, deliver 3.7 million babies, and treat 133 million ER patients.
The flood of numbers numbed my brain. When numbers get that big and abstract, they lose their impact. They could've said 100 million surgeries instead of 23 million surgeries and the result would've been the same. The numbers were just too big to grasp, and there were too many of them.
Real-life stories would've told a different story. Show the baby who would've died if not for the doctors and hospital equipment that saved her. Talk about the dad who lived to walk his daughter down the aisle--thanks only to the ER that saved his life. Bring in emotions and the ad works.
A campaign here in South Carolina used stats, but in a way that was effective. It was a campaign to reduce traffic deaths. A reporter asked people on the street, "How many people died on our highways last year?" One said 55,000. Another guessed 500,000.
When the reporter asked next, "what is a reasonable goal for reducing traffic fatalities in South Carolina," most responded that the number should be cut in half. Sensible enough, until the next question.
"What is a reasonable goal for traffic fatalities in your family?" asks the interviewer. The people being interviewed had a shocked look on their face because the question was no longer in the abstract. It became personal, and the message hit home.
Donors want to solve a problem. If nothing is wrong, why does anyone need their donations?
Too many nonprofits are afraid to be negative. They want only optimistic messaging and pictures of happy children. If you run a food bank or an animal shelter, it's okay to show pictures of hungry people or homeless dogs because they evoke strong emotions. They show the problem only a donor can solve.
A few years ago, the YMCA rebranded itself as The Y. The messaging that went with the rebranding was powerful because it set up the Y as the problem solver.
If you haven't seen the ads, here's a brief description of the one called Idle Hands.
Then, new video appears. It's brighter, more cheerful. Students are working on crafts and other projects. They're choosing constructive activities like doing their homework or playing basketball …at the Y, of course.
Kevin Brady, the ad's executive creative director, explained the reasoning behind the story. "You don't tend to give money when everything is perfect, you give it when there is a true, urgent need, and the Y is addressing those needs every day of the week."
Jessica Browning is the Senior Vice President of Communications for the Winkler Group, a full-service fundraising firm specializing in capital campaigns and planning studies. Ms. Browning has 25 years of nonprofit marketing and development experience. She received a B.A. from Duke University and an M.A. and M.B.A. from William & Mary. Follow Jessica @jwjbrowning or @winklergroup.
This blog originally appeared on Diagram Office's Medium Account on July 27, 2017. You can find the original post here.
The North Carolina Botanical Garden is part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was built to promote plant conservation and advance sustainable relations between people and nature. The Garden is comprised of 10 acres of display gardens, classrooms and a visitor center, and several miles nature trails.
The Garden needed a new master map that was user friendly, reflected their new brand identity, and accurately depicted the lush, hilly landscape of the region.
The original map was poorly oriented as visitors only enter the Garden facing south, which meant the map was inverted from visitor's first encounter with the space. It also didn't show the nature trails to the south of the Garden and gave too much prominence to the parking area.
After doing an initial drawing, flipping the orientation, and adjusting the scale of the parking area, the next step involved a series of colors studies to determine the basic tone of the map.
There are two approaches to map base colors: light backgrounds with dark labels, or dark background with light labels. We choose to proceed with a darker green style to mimic the lush greens of the physical garden. After choosing a general direction, I further studied the green tones to find the perfect balance.
Left: light green with black labels. Right: dark green with white labels.
An important feature to show was the significant elevation changes on the nature trails. I explored several options for showing the elevation using contour lines and shading.
The Garden wanted to show the canopy covering the Display Gardens and nature trails. We went through several iterations of tree cover to find a style that would work both on the overview map, and a cropped map of the Display Gardens.
From the beginning, the goal was to create a map that could show the overall trail system, and also be cropped to show the Display Garden in more detail. Below are the two final maps.
Each trail color was selected to match existing trail markers, and new colors were chosen for the trails that were not yet marked.
The label colors were selected from the Garden's brand palette and will be used to inform the colors of the wayfinding system within the garden. The orange of the Education Center was also selected from the brand palette and mimics the browns of the physical building.
The new maps will serve as both a template for future maps around the UNC campus and a start on further wayfinding upgrades at the Garden.
See more mapping work at www.diagramoffice.co/maps and Learn more about Diagram Office.
Sam is a Raleigh native and NCSU College of Design alumnus. He fell in love with infographics, data, and maps while working at Two Twelve in New York City. He specializes in making information visually concise, beautiful and accessible. Sam's clients include Bloomberg, WIRED, The North Carolina Botanical Garden, and the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Outside the studio, Sam studies and performs improv comedy and reads lots of books.
This blog originally appeared on Libris by Photoshelter on August 9, 2018. You can find the original blog post here.
Data and visual storytelling make up a one-two punch for brands struggling to cut through the clutter and engage their audiences.
Every day, through their work at Drake Strategies, strategy consultant Stefani Drake and photographer Joshua Drake help nonprofits and NGOs, businesses and humanitarians create visually engaging, data-driven content. At the 2018 AMA Nonprofit Conference, they shared best practices for combining data and visual storytelling to improve your marketing results.
Now, these experts are sharing their secrets with us. Here are three tips for impactful data-driven visual storytelling – straight from Stefani Drake.
1. Use data to tell a story.
When someone hears data, they often think of data engineers or Cambridge Analytica. Rest assured, the point of this post isn't to make you feel inadequate, it is to empower you with tools to spot trends in your available data.
When looking at data, you need to have the full picture. Pull in every resource available to you, including: website analytics, social media analytics, email analytics, field + program data, monitoring + evaluation, donor databases and more. There are several platforms available to you, like Cyfe, Hubspot + CrowdSkout that can take in your available data, compare it side by side and give you a better understanding of where your challenges are, what message is working and where you need to shift your focus.
The point of data isn't to overwhelm, it is to inform you on who your audience is, what they are responding to and why they are most likely to engage with your message. So ask yourself questions. Ask yourself why a social media post may have been more effective than the previous. Figure out why certain donors dropped off last year. And experiment so that you have more information to compare.
Once you understand who you are engaging with, what compels them to take action and what message is most effective, you are well on your way to telling a powerful, action driven story.
2. Capture attention with creative, consistent design.
Next, you need to package your information in creative, compelling ways. Good design will capture people's attention. Paragraphs of text won't.
But let's think creatively for a moment. If your organization served 2,500 people last year, so what? How is that relatable to someone on Instagram? A more powerful message is showing that nearly 7 people a day walked through your doors last year.
What do we mean by that? When you're scrolling Instagram, think of those accounts where you immediately recognize a post, without even looking at who posted it. Consistency creates brand awareness and allows your supporters to spot you in a crowded room.
And for those people who don't have a graphic designer in-house, have no fear. There are user friendly graphic design tools like Canva and Adobe Spark that make it easy for you to set your brand's style and tone. And Lightroom has filters you can use to keep a consistent look on all your photos.
3. Connecting the head and the heart.
By now you know the importance of a story, but it's the imagery that you use which truly will captivate your audience. The average lifespan of a photo is 7 seconds. So how do you arrest your audience and engage them?
Video is a great tool to captivate your audience and double the time they will view your content. We always reference a recent study by Libris on visual marketing trends. More and more brands are investing in video.
Our team photographer, Joshua Drake, recommends learning to tell a story in four photos or less: sense of place, interaction, details and portraiture.
Want to learn more? View all of our best practices here. The difference between good storytelling and great storytelling is in the details. Elevate your brand and expand your impact.
This blog originally appeared on InterAction's blog on July 5, 2018. You can find the original post here.
With an increasing partisan divide throughout our nation and the world, it's important to tell your story. I acknowledge that it is easier said than done, but after attending Forum 2018 I cannot stress how vital it is to share your passions with the world.
As I sat in breakout sessions, watched humanitarians receive awards and networked with amazing people who give their all, it became clear to me that your stories need to be told. The story of InterAction bringing together hundreds of change-makers is important and needs to be told. The innovative solutions to solving complex problems needs to be told. The unifying passion of thinking beyond oneself to reach others needs to be told.
My team was awarded the opportunity to lead a breakout session at the Forum. Our goal? To empower humanitarians with visual branding tips that will further their impact. We want to make this information accessible for all because we see your passion and believe in your mission.
1. Not all data is created equal, but all of it is important.
Gone are the days of silos and huge corporate structures and in are the days of collaboration and information sharing. You need to view all available analytics to spot trends, failures and implement strategy, but you should never forget that everyone on the team holds valuable information that needs to be shared to strengthen your story.
Case and point? M+E data. While we work hard to identify indicators and measure goals, outcomes, and outputs for our log-frames, none of that matters if no one knows about it. Of course, you will share this information with your partners, but how can you share your successes, failures and discoveries with your communications team so that they can bring that story to life?
When an organization has strong internal communications, it will have strong external communications. Make it easy for your teams to share stories, pitch new ideas and submit honest feedback. Only then will you be able to implement a strong communication strategy that reaches more people.
2. Consistency is key for branding.
While we all understand the value of data, the importance of a consistent brand can often be overlooked. Remember, for someone outside of your organization to remember your message you must reach them 7 times in 3 different formats. So, make it easy for them and stand out in a crowd.
While design and branding may sound intimidating for type-A data nerds like myself, it is vitally important for others to remember your organization. So be consistent and use clean design. If your logo colors are grey and red, don't use purple and pink on social media. Your brand should look and feel the same across all platforms.
3. Imagery connects the head to the heart.
Let's face it. Text heavy reports, collateral materials, and online news articles don't make nearly the same impact as a simple photograph. Bring your content to life with imagery and video. A good photo can make someone stop and pay attention. In a world of over-saturation, you can't afford anything else.
And telling your story through photographs can be simple enough. If you have to tell a story in three photos or less, make sure you show the landscape/setting, capture an empowering portrait, and show your work in action.
Whether you are part of a large NGO, a small grassroots organization, or are a boots-on-the-ground humanitarian, your work is important and deserves an audience willing to receive it. Through a smart digital strategy and simple design, you can reach more people and inspire them to take action.


Grade conversion refers to grades obtained abroad by exchange students that need to be converted to the grading scale of the home institution for inclusion in the home Transcript of Record. Since the grade conversion is a responsibility of the sending HEI and not of the receiving institution, grades obtained abroad will only become official if they are recognized by the sending HEI where they become part of the curriculum of the degree that the student wants to obtain there.
Grades also refer to individual marks obtained for course units as they are listed in the Learning Agreement and the Transcript of Records. Typically, it is the smallest unit to which (ECTS) credits are officially allocated. Clusters of various units that are allocated a fixed number of credits as a whole, therefore receive one final grade that corresponds to this number of credits.
The degree grade distribution table below enables a transparent interpretation of students achievements, thus ensuring the grade conversion to European HEIs.


text:
E-Commerce ecommerce Social Media Marketing S-Commerce
Why Ecommerce Merchants Should Ride the Social Commerce Wave
By Tony Capetola on November, 16 2020
Social Commerce or S-Commerce has proven itself to be a driving force for reaching more shoppers in non-intent-driven ways, and to boot - properly handled it can be highly lucrative.
Of the three top channels Morgan Stanley analysts expect to lead online advertising growth by as much as 20% in 2021, two are social media platforms - Facebook and Pinterest.
The third, as you most likely guessed, is Google which comes at quite literally no surprise.
I've said it before and I will say it again: this is a very new world we are living in right now and ecommerce merchants MUST be willing to adapt to break new ground in their digital growth. Gone are the days of focusing solely on search engines to future proof one's desires for ecommerce dominance.
Its not a stretch to say that social commerce or s-commerce can (and in some cases should) be the driving force behind taking your online store or retail brand to the next level.
What is Social Commerce (S-Commerce)?
Put simply, s-commerce is essentially defined as a form of ecommerce that solely involves social media as a means by which merchants or retailers connect with consumers.
Break that down even further and you will find the core components of s-commerce include such activities as:
Advertising: Unlike search engines which are "intent driven" forms of digital marketing and advertising, social media is entirely "contextual" in nature. Instead of consumers "seeking" out WHAT they want, in s-commerce it is the merchant who is "seeking" out WHO they want. For example, merchants can use Dynamic Product Ads for Facebook and/or Instagram to target individuals by demographics and interests in an effort to catch consumer's eyes in that finite window of opportunity - once coined as a "micro-moment."
Storefronts: Another term one might use to describe this activity is "marketplace," but essentially merchants can build digital storefronts and showcase their products without outwardly delivering ads to potential shoppers. With how COVID has put the ecommerce industry on a warp-speed path into the future, merchants can capitalize on this even more so than ever before.
Organic: Just the tried and true action of posting on one's business page or profile, leveraging such commonplace norms such as hashtags (#) and tagging to associate a post with an interest or even a movement. What's more, platforms such as Pinterest for Business allow merchants to upload product catalogs and then leverage those to create Pins for specific products - a way to connect with shoppers in a fluid, yet meaningful, way.
Customer Service: It has been reported, by several sources, that well over 70% of consumers are likely to recommend a brand or merchant to a friend or family member when they have received quick and positive customer service via social media. So, while providing quality customer service can directly impact your core customer - boosting loyalty, trust, and LTV - it can also help to attract net new customers who could funnel directly into that very same cycle.
So, not only can s-commerce help merchants grow top-line revenue, but it can also help drive down-funnel new customer acquisition and even build up social proof.
Without leveraging s-commerce, merchants and brands are effectively leaving money on the table and losing out on what their competitors are potentially using to leave them in the dust.
Which S-Commerce platforms are right for me?
It's the "eggs in which basket" argument all over again - of all the social media platforms out there, which are most likely to drive results.
While the short answer is "potentially, any of them," you are likely to get yourself into the weeds if you don't take a measured (or even data-driven) approach to choosing the one's best-suited for your business.
It can also depend greatly on what types of products you sell. Unique, custom, or even handmade goods may fair better on Pinterest for example while branded products may see better performance on Facebook and/or Instagram.
Here's what I CAN tell you though...
Facebook, and by association Instagram, is by far the largest and most prominent social media platform in the world. It is and has been the "de-facto leader" in s-commerce for many years. Facebook further solidified that distinction in May 2020 when, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, it officially announced the launch of the new Facebook and Instagram Shops. Facebook checks ALL the s-commerce boxes.
Advertising: Dynamic Product Ads, which can display across both Facebook and Instagram, are not only incredibly efficient in their ability to reach more shoppers, but have shown to result in some of the highest return on ad spend potentials - even rivaling those commonly seen in search engine marketing.
Storefronts: Now, with Shops, merchants can build and even customize enticing "social-first" storefronts which allow shoppers to browse AND purchase natively as opposed to directly on one's ecommerce website - thus keeping them engaged on the platform they are already on and potentially reducing friction in the checkout process.
Organic: According to Hootsuite, the average Facebook user "Likes" 13 posts a month, so we - with some degree of certainty - can say that your posts could be engaging enough to attract consumer attention. What's more, posting organically, and when done properly, is entirely devoid of any costs - less you choose to "Boost" posts through advertising which can also be an effective traffic and revenue driver.
Customer Service: Some reports have indicated that upwards of over 20 billion messages are exchanged between businesses and users via Facebook Messenger ever month. What's more, ecommerce merchants can tie in Shops with Messenger. With reviews for their Facebook Business Pages, merchants to also build on social proof which has been shown to have a direct impact on brand loyalty and audience expansion.
For whatever time and resources you may have at your disposal, Facebook and Instagram are prime contenders for what may be your top choices for s-commerce and social media marketing as a whole.
We're covering Pinterest, or more specifically Pinterest for Business, now since it was the only other social media platform predicted to lead year '21 growth in advertising by those very same Morgan Stanley analysts I mentioned earlier. Good reason too seeing as stats reported in the past by eMarketer have shown that a far greater percentage of Pinterest users are using the platform for shopping activities than either Facebook OR Instagram. CONTEXT: Based on current figures, Facebook still outweighs Pinterest in number of users even after doing the math, although the percentage of Facebook users reportedly using the platform for shopping behavior is substantially lower than that of Pinterest.
Advertising: Shopping ads for Pinterest are currently available in 28 countries around the world including the United States, UK, Australia, and Canada. Just as it is the general theme of ecommerce advertising on social media, getting started on Pinterest requires a Product Catalog (aka product feed) with which one can setup Shopping ads (single image units), Personalized collection ads (multi-image style), AND Dynamic Retargeting.
Storefronts: Check again! Once you have uploaded your Product Catalog, the Shop tab of your Pinterest profile comes to life, creating a visually stunning native consumer browsing experience. Shoppers can peruse your wares and purchase directly on your ecommerce website right from your collections.
Organic: Inspiration is the game and Pinterest is the name. In 2020, some over 240 billion Pins were saved by users as reported by Pinterest in a global analysis. Pinterest is also seeing tremendous growth in shopping-related behavior on its platform. In a 6-month lookback, 85% more Pinners were engaging with shopping surfaces on Pinterest.
Customer Service: BAM! That's right, with Messaging for your business, you can allow Pinners to communicate with you - ask questions, learn more, you name it! Rounding out the list here, Pinterest affords merchants the very same core benefits we covered earlier.
(Source: Pinterest for Business)
Merchants on any ecommerce platform can now leverage our award-winning technology here at Sales & Orders to generate a functional Product catalog for Pinterest. So, what are you waiting for???
While Snapchat may not be as mature as its brethren in the category, the social media platform is emerging as a trend-setter in the realm of s-commerce. It is important to note that, for businesses specifically, Snapchat leans heavily on a focus of advertising to reach one's desired audience. Snapchat's user audience or Snapchatters, consists primarily of the younger generation including Millennials and Gen-Zers.
Advertising: In case you were wondering - it's yes. Ecommerce businesses that wish to start product advertising on Snapchat must start with a product catalog (seems familiar enough, no?). With that out of the way, you are free to run various formats of Product Catalog Ads including Collection Ads, Single Image or Video Ads (with Dynamic Product Ad capabilities only for Single Image), and Story Ads. Dynamic Ads can be tailored with an event source to run a form of remarketing or retargeting to previous site visitors. This type is also currently available in 37 countries such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and even Argentina.
Storefronts: Only throwing this in as a "honorable mention" as it is still very much a closed program for Snapchat right now. While there are Creator Profiles, a beta for Brand Profiles, anything resembling a "storefront" on Snapchat is only available in the US, only available via a partnership with Shopify, and seemingly only a handful of influencers or account holders have them currently in use.
Organic: So, this is where the switch gets flipped. While its hard to pin down how a merchant might be able to leverage Snapchat to drive interest in their brand or products organically, Snapchat users (Snapchatters) were reportedly two times more likely to share about recent purchases than non-users. This "social word of mouth" type of interaction could be a win for merchants and can be classified under UGC or User Generated Content. Snapchat CAN certainly, however, be used as a bonified branding tool to interact with loyal followers.
Customer Service: Hard to say or even classify Snapchat as the ideal platform specifically for Customer Service. I would sooner say that Snapchat is a great way to connect with your audience in a unique, almost quirky way that can bring about a "humanization" effect for your brand.
(Source: Snapchat for Business)
Going back here for a second it is said that Snapchat is a great way to connect with a younger generation of consumers - especially seeing as the vast majority of Snapchatters are under the age of 35. If your products are geared towards them or if your brand aligns with a more "youthful" identity, then Snapchat can be an excellent part of your s-commerce strategy.
Honorable Mentions: Twitter & TikTok
I have left these to the end only for the simple reason that, out of all mentioned thus far, neither Twitter or TikTok offer (at least now) a form of product-specific ad format.
However, that doesn't mean that either could not potentially be powerful drivers for your ecommerce business.
Twitter users, by most statistics, use the platform more so than any other social media platform for one particular thing - news consumption.
That isn't to say that you won't find Twitter a useful social media marketing tool seeing as there are likely over 330 million active monthly users on the platform.
Tweets from your ecommerce store's profile - including sponsored ones (advertising) - can be used to spread the word about current or upcoming offers and deals. Ads can be used to target individuals who follow other profiles and/or businesses thus allowing you to reach consumers who might resonate well with your products or your brand.
(Source: BigCommerce)
With its direct messaging capabilities, Twitter does allow you to potentially tackle some customer service. This is also where you need to tread lightly as consumers can also "wage wars" with brands in publicly facing tweets and calling out to any particular hashtag (#) that might excite other users who were never really part of the conversation to begin with.
After its all said and done - strike the right balance, remain "impartial", and stay on mission - and be sure to put tracking parameters on everything you share if it directs back to your ecommerce website!
The hip new fad especially among the younger generations, TikTok has virtually exploded onto the social media scene - giving rise to some recent, both hilarious and touching at the same time, viral moments of 2020.
In the face of COVID, TikTok as pledged $100 million to help SMBs and is even offering some incredible bonuses such as ad credits and more (time is running out to claim these benefits).
If you or someone on your team has the creative chops to pull it off, TikTok does offer a number of short-form mobile video ad unit types you can leverage to build brand awareness and connect with consumers.
(Source: TikTok for Business)
Other than ads though, there isn't much "s-commerce" going on yet at TikTok - but that is not to say that the future does not hold an expansion into the territory.
Are you ready for S-Commerce?
Ultimately, succeeding in today's ecommerce ecosystem is all about staying relevant and being present wherever and however consumers are interacting with retail online.
Not every shopping "micro-moment" is based entirely on intent. In truth, every consumer's journey is unique - often consisting of hundreds of touchpoints throughout.
Social media marketing and s-commerce represent prime, digital retail shelf space where merchants can reach potential shoppers "in the context" of their personal lives. By not incorporating s-commerce into one's strategy, you are ignoring what could potentially bring in more sales at a high return on investment.
Especially now as s-commerce continues to evolve at break-neck speed, ecommerce merchants should be looking at every potential avenue for opportunities to grow and expand their reach.


Predire Group is a family owned company from Sölvesborg in Sweden with around 100 employes working with test simulations and quality assurance for the car industry with notable customers such as Volvo, Audi, BMW and Mercedes. In 2014, Predire decided to expand to China with the help of Scandic Sourcing.
Scandic Sourcing established Predire's new test center in Jiading, close to Volvo, and took care of the company registration process.
Scandic Sourcing prepared a location analysis, searched and recommended suitable premises, assisted with lease negotiation and took care of the company registration. The result: Predire is now up and running across the street from Volvo's new R&D facility in the car district of Jiading in northern Shanghai.
"We chose Scandic Sourcing because of their long experience in China and their technical know-how", says Johnas Rundgren, CEO for Predire in China.


The USGBC Florida Capital Region Chapter provides educational programming for everyone in the green building community. Whether you are an industry professional new to green building, just working on a green project, pursuing LEED credentials or continuing education credits, or if you simply want to stay informed, our USGBC workshops and Branch programs are ideal for you.
Why should you learn about green building?
are among the most qualified, educated and influential green-building professionals in the marketplace.
prices for the highest quality LEED education offered by anyone in the region. By being a member of our nonprofit organization, not only will you save monies and secure your credential of choice and all of your CEs and CEUs, but also all of the terrific benefits of local USGBC membership. Check back here for details of upcoming workshops and online education opportunities.
Congratulations Capital Region and all companies that had even the smallest hand in this ongoing market transformation. To join the Chapter family, click here.
LEED Store -- Reference Guides and more.
LEED Accredited Professionals -- Select individual credentials on the left side of the page under the "Professionals" option.
LEED APs who are local Chapter members -- visit our online Membership Directory (many cross-searches are also available).
The USGBC's GBIG (Green Building information System) is a global innovation platform for exploring and comparing the green dimensions of the built environment. GBIG is the premier search engine for green building data, providing tools that allow project teams, portfolio managers, investors, product manufacturers, researchers and the general public to discover green buildings around the world, generate insights and accelerate market transformation. GBIG is organized around activities (projects at or within a building), buildings, places, strategies and collections. Users can navigate this incredible resource through these main areas, browse featured content, or simply enter keywords in the search.
Thanks to the USGBC's stong focus on Advocacy, we are now be able to access state-level green-building data in real time. These State Market Briefs are data visualization dashboards that provide a quick look at LEED and USGBC data specific to a State. The visualizations can also be exported as pdf files to share with neighbors, friends, colleagues and elected officials.
This resource provides cumulative registered and certified project totals, project achievement totals, gross square footage, project totals broken out by owner type and space type, USGBC member organizations by type, credential holders, links to Chapter(s) serving that particular state, and a project profile scorecard. The USGBC will make market briefs for countries outside the USA upon request, and plans to add LEED Homes and LEED ND data in the future. Check out Florida and your home State!


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Agnès Breton
Agnès provides administrative, secretarial and development support to several Co-operation Ireland projects, including the CATCH project and the All-Island School Choir Competition. Prior to working on these projects, she provided administrative, secretarial and development support to the "Spiral for Schools"; "School Connecting Cultures"; "Generations for Peace" projects as well as the Civic-Link programme and to the Research and Evaluation Manager.
Before joining Co-operation Ireland in November 2007, Agnès worked for a language school in Dublin. Agnès who comes from France also worked alongside the Business Development Manager for the International Hotel Federation in Paris.
Agnès has an Honours degree in The Humanities with art history and literature from the Open University.
Published: 3rd January, 2019
The Erasmus+ training programme. Co-operation Ireland took advantage of this programme to send 43 staff and volunteers to 4 training periods in Europe developing their skills and knowledge to the benefit of the organisation
Evan Short
Dr. Christopher Moran, Chairman
As Chairman of Co-operation Ireland, Dr. Christopher Moran promotes peace and reconciliation under the joint patronage of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins.
Director of Fundraising
Sharon Woods
Brian O'Caoindealbhain
Research and Evaluation Officer
Michelle Menice
Paula Madigan


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HomeIsland of ElbaLa fauna dell'Elba
Together with the sisters of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba Island hosts some rare animal species, that are not always easy to discover and observe in nature, because they are shy and fearful. The geographic isolation has favored the development of a fauna that has different characteristics from that of the mainland. The phenomenon is particularly clear if we consider the large number of native animals with unique shapes that inhabit Elba Island. These animals are mainly terrestrial invertebrates. For instance, among many we mention the tiny snails of the genus Oxychilus present in two different species.
The springs of Elba hosts a unique blind shrimp of the Ilvanella genus and butterflies like Coenonympha corinna and Hipparchia neomiris.
Besides these, there are also many species of native spider, among them we recall the Migale Cteniza sauvagesi which finds shelter during daylight hours in underground nest closed by operculum. The islands represent a refuge for some species of animals that have disappeared elsewhere, such as the Tyrrhenian frog, a medium sized frog, the only amphibious that exists from different geological eras, to be found on the islands of Montecristo and Giglio.
Among the lizards is widespread the green emerald lizard which can reach a length of 25 cm; while among the snakes, very common is the western whip snake which fastly slips among the Mediterranean low bushes and hides among the branches of oaks and arbutus to protect from dangers or to hunt small preys. Along the coastline there was once the common sea turtle Caretta featuring a large brownish tortoise shell which can reach a length of over one meter .
The Mammals
The terrestrial fauna is characterized by species that are originally unknown. Among them we cite the Goat and the Viper of Montecristo, introduced by man in the Protohistoric era. The mammals are those typical of the Mediterranean environment. Remarkable is the presence of the rare mustelids ( Mustelidae martes ). In the seventies the Central European wild boar ( Sus scrofa) was introduced, after the Maremma wild boar got nearly extinguished. Today there is a cross- breed wild boar which is very prolific, can reach a weight of 150 kg and causes a lot of agricultural damages. Besides the boar there are also the mouflon and the hare.
Birds of Elba Island
Bird life is very rich and it includes resident and migratory birds. All the typical Mediterranean birds nest or overwinter upon cliffs, in the maquis or in the forests. It is not a coincidence that Elba and the other islands belonging to the Tuscan Archipelago represent a popular destination for ornithologists.
Among the most lively environments we cite: the islets of Cerboli, Palmaiola and the island of Topi and Enfola Cape. There are many species and many specimen of swallows and swifts, sparrows , finches and thrushes. At twilight common and serotine bats start flying. Among the birds nesting on the island there are the Barn Owl, the Peregrine Falcon and the Kestrel , the Common Owl, the Buzzard and the massive Raven .
Among the seabirds, the most common are the omnivores gulls that occupy large areas of the cliffs to nest, while seagulls are more rare. We also remember the Shag, a cormorant having marine customs. Typical of the island is also the rare Red Grouse ( Alectoris rufa ) and the Common Pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus ) to be found both in Elba Island and Pianosa. The lands of the Archipelago represent an important stopover point for migratory birds that after having mated in Northern Europe, go to the southern lands to winter and then come back again north at the end of the cold season.
The Butterflies Sanctuary
Established by the National Park within an environment unique for its biodiversity nearby Mount Capanne.