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Preserving and Maximizing Defense Coverage Through Final Adjudication

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Preserving and Maximizing Defense Coverage Through Final Adjudication


Last week, the Ninth Circuit affirmed fraud convictions for Theranos’ former CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, and former COO, Ramesh Balwani, upholding an order finding both defendants personally liable for $452 million in restitution to various Theranos investors. While it remains to be seen whether the embattled executives will pursue further appeals to the US Supreme Court, the years of litigation and appeals following Theranos’s untimely demise in 2018 highlight the importance of directors and officers having robust “final adjudication” language in conduct exclusions found in all D&O liability policies.

Modern D&O policies contain exclusions for fraudulent or criminal acts. But those exclusions usually cannot apply until a “final adjudication” establishes that the alleged fraudulent or criminal conduct actually occurred. The result is that individuals defending against alleged fraud get the benefit of a defense funded by the D&O policy unless and until the fraud is finally proven. And even where fraud is finally adjudicated, the onus is placed on the insurer to try to recover those costs from the policyholder, which is easier said than done when an entity is insolvent or a beleaguered individual endured years of litigation and appeals. In both cases, the insured may be unable to repay thousands if not millions of dollars in advanced legal fees and expenses if dragged into a new lawsuit by the D&O insurer.

The importance of securing timely and robust defense coverage cannot be overstated. In the case of Theranos, some investors have alleged that the company maintained at least $30 million in D&O coverage. Yet Elizabeth Holmes’ defense alone reportedly cost in excess of $30 million.

When reviewing your D&O policy with an eye towards maximizing executive protection and defense coverage, consider these key issues:

  1. What is a “final adjudication”? Negotiate triggers in conduct exclusions to be as narrow as possible. If the policy requires a final adjudication, how is that defined? Some policies specify complete exhaustion of all appeals, while others may trigger at earlier stages. Does the exclusion contemplate adjudications in the underlying action only or in other actions, like those initiated by the insurer to determine coverage under the policy? Are defense expenses expressly carved out from the exclusion? Slight variations can materially impact whether coverage is preserved.

  2. What are the insurer’s advancement obligations? A narrow conduct exclusion is only effective if the policyholder can receive the benefits of full and efficient reimbursement of ongoing defense costs in litigation prior to any final adjudication. At a minimum, the policy should make clear that the insurer has a duty to advance defense costs until it is determined that the previously advanced defense costs are not insured.

But how quickly must those payments be made? And what happens if there is a dispute where the insurer is claiming that uncovered parties, claims, or matters allow for limited defense reimbursement under the policy’s “allocation” provision? Following the flow of money from the insurer to the individual (and perhaps back again in a repayment situation) will ensure there are no reimbursement snafus in the midst of contentious litigation that distracts from the underlying defense.

  1. How to ensure protection for “innocent” insureds? If one bad actor commits fraud and loses coverage, it should not impact coverage for other individual defendants. Pay close attention to “severability” provisions. Does the policy provide full or limited severability? When, if at all, can wrongful acts committed by one insured by imputed to other insureds who were not involved in the wrongdoing? How does the policy treat other misrepresentations, like those in applications?

  2. How to protect executives when the company cannot? Under most D&O policies, the company has access to the same set of limits that otherwise would be available to protect individual insureds. If the company can indemnify and advance legal fees for its executives, those shared limits are usually not problematic. But when the company is insolvent and in bankruptcy, as was the case with Theranos, the D&O policy is the only source of protection preventing executives from personal exposure.

The solution is purchasing dedicated “Side A” coverage that sets aside separate limits that are available exclusively for the benefit of directors and officers when the company is unable or unwilling to provide indemnification. Some D&O policy forms provide built-in dedicated Side A-only limits, but many times they are purchased through standalone policies. Structuring a D&O program with adequate Side A coverage can ensure executives have an insurance backstop to defend, settle, and pay claims when they need it most.

For corporate executives, these small but important aspects of defense coverage under D&O policies can be the difference between executives being fully protected in protracted litigation and being left uninsured and subject to personal exposure.

How To Start A YouTube Channel – Complete Guide Of Starting A YouTube Channel

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How To Start A YouTube Channel – Complete Guide Of Starting A YouTube Channel


How To Start?

Do you have your YouTube channel yet? If not, why not?
YouTube makes it possible for anyone to be a star over the Internet! Millions
of people can see your videos when you have a YouTube channel, and it is very
easy to upload and publish videos. Don’t let the fear that it could be hard to
do scare you away. It’s not hard. YouTube calls accounts “channels,”
it is not a real channel per se, and you don’t have to have broadcasting
experience. As soon as you sign up for an account you have a channel on
YouTube.

Let’s get started! Here are tips to make it easier to get
your channel up and running: Register – It’s easy and it’s free. If you can
figure out how to register for a free email account, you can register for
YouTube. If you already have a Google account, you can even link it to YouTube.

Customize your settings – 

YouTube gives you the
option to adjust your settings. Take advantage of this to make your page look
like you want it to.

This page is the same thing as a channel. When people check
out your videos, they will come to your page. If it looks attractive and
interesting, they will be more likely to subscribe to your offerings. Make sure
that your page is interesting but also clear. Some colors are hard to look at
or don’t go together. Avoid these on your page.

Upload a video –

Follow the instructions YouTube
gives you for uploading your video. Until you have videos on your channel,
you’ve got an empty page. There’s no content for your viewers and no reason for
anyone to subscribe to your channel. Once you have videos on your channel,
you’ll be able to tell how your audience receives them. YouTube has a lot of
analytics that you can access to see how people are reacting. There is also a
count of how many people are viewing, and viewers can also rate your videos.

10
Questions to Ask Before starting

If you are considering setting up a YouTube channel for your
business, you will have plenty of opportunities to get your brand in front of the
largest online video audience. Each month, there are more than 800 million
users visiting YouTube around the world. Many of them are researching new
products before they decide to make a purchase.

Reaching out to just a portion of that number can mean a big
increase in engagement and sales while spreading brand awareness. That makes
the time and effort spent on developing your business’ own channel well worth
it.
Before you get ready to set up your own company YouTube
channel, you need to explore the answers to these ten questions. That way you
are completely prepared.

What do we want to accomplish with our YouTube channel?

As with any business-related venture, it is important to
have a clearly defined goal. Knowing exactly what results you want to see from
launching a business channel helps you shape the type of content you create. Do
you want to increase web traffic? Boost sales? Showcase and demonstrate new
products? Or maybe just have a video that gives people a behind-the-scenes look
into your operation.

Do we need more than one channel?

If you sell a wide variety of products, it might make sense
to have a different channel set up for each set. For example, if you sell
clothes, shoes, and accessories it can be a good idea to set up channels for
each of those areas of your business.

How can we customize the channel’s background?

It is always a good idea to keep your branding consistent
throughout all of your marketing and content material. If you have a certain color
scheme and logo in use on your website and blog, carry them over to your
YouTube channel background as well. This makes your brand easily recognizable
by viewers and fans.

Should we add product commercials?

YouTube is not the place to upload your company commercials.
It is a place people go to be entertained and get informed. You only want to
add content that is informative and helpful. This keeps your company from
appearing overly promotional while enhancing your reputation as a business.
Offer viewers tutorials on using your products, post interviews with industry
professionals, or even videos of happy customers using your products.

How do I tag and describe videos?

You want to keep the video descriptions short and to the
point. Including your company URL or a link to your online store is also a good
idea since it encourages viewers to visit. Include keywords in video
descriptions and tags. This makes it easy for users to find related videos.

How do we organize our videos?

Make it easy for viewers to look for the videos they will
find the most helpful by grouping them together in related categories, like a
playlist. If you are posting cooking videos, for example, you would want to
break it down into categories like desserts, chicken dinners, appetizers, etc.

Can I make my own content and how often should I post?

If you have a limited budget, it is perfectly okay to create
videos on your own. You can use any available video camera, even if it’s just
the one on your smartphone. As your business grows, you may want to invest some
money in having a professional take over your video creation.

You will want to add new content as often as possible. When
you post valuable content every week, viewers will be ready to watch your
newest uploads every week, so be prepared to keep on track with your videos.

Do I need to allow comments on videos?

Allowing comments shows people that you are open to
receiving feedback and encourage more interaction from your viewers. You have
the option of requiring approval before a comment is posted to your video or
letting the comments show automatically. Requiring approval helps eliminate
spam comments on your channel too.

How do I promote the channel?

You can easily broadcast to your fans and followers every
time you upload a new video. Simply post an update on your social media
networks with a link to the video included. Also, add a listing to your website
or blog. If you have the funds, you can also promote through Google AdWords.

How do we measure the success of the channel?

You have access to the free analytics tools offered by
YouTube. You can see how many people have watched your videos, how they
discovered them and how often it is being watched. You can also see the number
of subscribers to your channel, the number of likes and dislikes as well as
content shares and comments.

How to
Customize?

To customize YouTube channel suggests that to
diagrammatically amendment the default background. they permit users to travel
into their channel to transfer a custom YouTube background by clicking on My
Channel — Themes & colors — Show Advanced choices — Background Image —
Browse.

You can then take a graphic file that has been saved on your
laptop and transfers it to YouTube. make certain that the file is not any larger
than 256K — and is within the.jpeg or.gif file extension.
The YouTube layout dimensions are dependent upon your screen
resolution. However, you must begin out with 1250 by 1250 pixels and reduce in
increments of twenty-five pixels. Save the file and so transfer it. See however
your YouTube channel appearance. Repeat steps till you discover a satisfactory
match.
Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Fireworks is the 2 completely
different graphics programs that may be accustomed build the YouTube
background. If you’re new these programs, there’s a touch little bit of a
learning curve, but there are video tutorials on the net that may teach you the
way to use these programs. simply do a research on Google and you’ll notice a
large number of tutorials.
You can conjointly rent those that focus on building custom
YouTube backgrounds. they will be found on elance, e-guru, soul forum, etc.
Having a custom YouTube channel is important if you would
like to square go in the social media arena. whether or not your committed net
selling or simply attempting to form friends, a singular graphic style on your
channel can add part of attractiveness.
Just one very little piece of recommendation if you opt to
travel the route of hiring somebody rather than building a custom YouTube page
yourself. make certain you’re not limiting your concepts or beliefs to what is
done. no matter you would like on your YouTube background is what you must
invite. do not be afraid to be terribly careful and specific in your style. If
they’re ineffectual to fulfill your wants, then notice another graphic designer.
There are several skilled graphic designers that have designed many YouTube
backgrounds and are happy to search out a lot of work.

How to
get more views?

Success on YouTube is both art and science. If you’re making
videos for YouTube and still not quite satisfied with the number of channel
views you’re getting, you must be doing this wrong. Many people fail to
increase their YouTube channel views and blame it on luck. Keep these basic
steps in mind while uploading your next video:
1. Mind-blowing Thumbnails: Many people click on a
video entirely based on this factor. Select an Attractive thumbnail that
catches eyes.
2. Use your brain: Creative videos spread like a
virus on social networking sites and easily get on the front page of YouTube.
So be innovative, be funny.
3. Title Speaks: Get your videos proper titles so
that your videos are placed in a better position in search engine results, this
can alone get a ton of views if done properly.
4. Don’t make it look like an Ad (only for a commercial
purpose): Give your video watchers value for the watch. Don’t make it
spammy.
5.Science of tags: Tag properly to get a better
position in search results.
6. Add Description: Describe your videos in details;
more, the better.
7. Social networking: Use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace
to promote your videos.
8. Your personal blog: Set up a website or a blog.
Direct people from videos to blog also vice versa.
9. Use other video sites: Use the power of Daily
Motion, MetaCafe and other video sites.
10. Never give up: Even if you fail to get a lot of
views at the start; do yourself a favor, don’t give up.
Add caption

Understand
Analytics on YouTube

Many people fail to make use of available analytical
information to help them make informed strategic decisions on your video output
on YouTube. Knowing how and from where your visitors reach your YouTube videos
has an impact on affect your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, video
title choices, raise your profile and help establish connections within your
niche.
This second in a two-part article looks at how YouTube’s
free Traffic Source tools will help you quantify your return on your YouTube video
investment (ROI) and reveal the effectiveness of your campaigns and traffic
boosting strategies.
Suggested Videos:  After a video is seen by a viewer,
YouTube suggests a range of other videos related by subject and genre which
they can go on to watch. It suggests content which YouTube’s algorithm software
believes might also be of interest. This tool indicates the number of viewers
who watched your videos as a consequence of these suggestions and informs you
which video drove the viewer to click onto your material.
This can provide you valuable information in terms of the
sort of content your target viewer is also watching. Lateral searches results
are a very useful way to improve your SEO rankings. This should inspire you
into various actions – create similar content if appropriate, include tags to
cover the keywords that might have been used for the original video, form
relationships with the suggested video creator (if appropriate), as well as use
the information to strengthen your SEO links outside YouTube.
YouTube, Channel Page: This statistical tool tells
you the number of times that a viewer reached your video via your Channel page
or clicked through from another user’s Channel page. Again, creating
relationships with other users and encouraging subscriptions increases your
exposure within the YouTube community. Without question, the more often other
people see your work from other people’s channels, the higher your
click-through rate will be.
YouTube, Featured Video: If you are a YouTube Partner
then your video might well appear as a Featured Videos (FV). FVs are not
adverts or paid placements and are rotated throughout the day to keep the main
site’s content new and innovative. Occasionally, videos which have suddenly
become very popular or talked about might be chosen as an FV. Featured Videos
are shown as a video thumbnail. This tool indicates the number of
click-throughs that your FV thumbnail has generated.
YouTube, Other: You can learn which other pages on
YouTube is pushing viewers to your content. This will include the home page,
other people’s channel pages, a play-list which a YouTube user has set up or
YouTube’s category pages. By improving your tags and keywords (using tools
referred to in Part 1), you can improve your prospects of appearing on the
search results of category listings.
Engaging with other members of your niche community will
help you raise the visibility of your content so it is more likely to appear on
channel pages and playlists.
YouTube, Search and Search Link: Again, this is a very useful analytic tool which discloses the number of viewers who have
reached your video thanks to your presence on YouTube search results. This is
another source of data to guide you on all aspects of tagging and keyword
selection for your publishing program on YouTube as well as what to create
content on.
The tool will indicate the number of click-throughs you’ve
gained from each specific keyword. By identifying what keywords were used to
find your video, you can ensure future titles, descriptions, URL options, tags,
and keywords include the most popular or lateral keywords. In refining your
titles to include words that people respond to, you can boost your rankings in
search results and establish the topics and subjects to concentrate on.
YouTube Subscription Modules: As indicated in the
title, this refers to the views you’ve received from your subscribers. It shows you
when your subscribers clicked your video within one of the subscription
notification modules. All content publishers hope for active subscribers who
are engaged with the material you create.
Seeing what topics and themes are most popular with your
subscribers will guide your future editorial program. Spend time and
resources creating videos that your subscribers want to see. As the tool also
tells you how soon after uploading each video your subscribers clicked to
watch, you can get an indication of the best times to upload content to ensure
maximum views.
Video Annotation: This tool will tell you whether
your viewer reached you via a link embedded in a footnote in another YouTube
video. Interacting with others in your community will increase the likelihood
that other content creators will refer to your video in their content. Create
momentum by making references to people you recommend (and let them know you’ve
done so).
It is another way to see how popular your content is
becoming within your niche community so you can judge whether or not to produce
more of the same sort of material in the future.
Using the free Traffic Source tools provided by YouTube can
give you real and valuable appreciation on your viewers’ activities and
behavior. The data can show you where you should concentrate your resources in
producing content which is of genuine value and interest to your niche
community. It can guide your investment decisions on resources and equipment,
as well as indicate how best to maximize your SEO approaches to make your
videos known to its target audience.

Rekindling My Love for Investing With Robinhood: A Reflection on My Investment Journey

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Rekindling My Love for Investing With Robinhood: A Reflection on My Investment Journey


Introduction to My Robinhood Investment Journey

My investment journey began somewhere around the summer of 2018 when I decided to take a chance and invest in the stock market. I had heard about investing with Robinhood, a commission-free stock trading platform, and decided to give it a try. I was immediately drawn to the platform’s user-friendly interface and the ability to trade stocks without paying any commissions. I was also intrigued by the idea of being able to invest in stocks without having to pay a broker or advisor. I quickly became an avid user of Robinhood and began to invest in stocks and ETFs.

It feels like I started with about $800 but surely it had to be much less than that but by late 2019 I had grown my account to enough to start day trading without being marked as a pattern day trader. I did great swing trading and now I was throwing much bigger money at stocks with good news. In 2019 it was very hard to lose money in the stock market because we was very much in a bull market.

Then I jumped into a stock that I got stuck in because it brought my account below that 25k and I had already bought and sold that same stock multiple times that day. I was now forced to hold that stock overnight. At close I was down 12k on that stock. But then something miraculous happened the next morning. I woke up at 4am and saw my Robinhood was up 48K for the daily. Excited as I was, I couldn’t sell and not because I didn’t want to. I wanted to lock in those profits but couldn’t because Robinhood premarket at that time didn’t open up til 8am.

I watched my 48K of profits dwindle back down to $1200 by the time Robinhood opened up at for me to sell 8am. Right then and there I was done with investing with Robinhood and stopped trading for about 2 weeks to allow my money to be withdrawn from Robinhood and be added to Webull. At first Webull charts and tools was overwhelming with all the information at my disposal. But the advantage webull had was I could buy premarket before 4am central.

Rediscovering My Love for Robinhood

Robinhood 1 Month Chart

Other than keeping and maintaining a few smaller crypto positions I virtually stopped using Robinhood completely. But Robinhood did have some advantages that Webull didn’t. Like when I deposited money into Robinhood it was available in 2 days vs. Webull taking 5 for the funds to settle. The bull market we had way back then has since disappeared thanks to our fearless leaders destroying the economy. Trading strategies have had to be adjusted for reality.

I’ve been going back to the basics and investing a lot more for long term growth. And because of this along side my other Stash and Acorns micro-investing apps I’ve decided to use Robinhood for building yet another long term portfolio similar to what I have with Stash and Acorns. Unlike Webull, Robinhood allows you to reinvest your dividends. And when I’m investing long term and doing reoccurring investments on a weekly basis with Robinhood I don’t need all those fancy charts I need for swing trading with Webull.

What I Still Hate About Robinhood

Despite my love for Robinhood’s ability to implement DRIP and have reoccurring investments, there are still some aspects of the platform that I don’t like. It’s not just that the charts suck because I don’t really need the charts for how I’m using it now. But Webull has that P&L calendar and its very easy to look and see how much you gained and lossed on each and every stock you’ve ever traded on Webull. To find that information on Robinhood its a pain in the ass frankly.

Once you look up the stock you’re absolutely sure you once traded on Robinhood you must do some math to figure out your individual gains or losses for that stock.

Reflection on My Investment Journey

Overall, my investment journey has been a positive experience. I have learned a lot about the stock market and have been able to make some profitable investments. It is really Robinhood that opened the door for me and started my interest with the stock market in general. Even though I believe I’ve had acorns for longer and it was my first intro to micro-investing.

But for someone new to investing its hard not to appreciate the platform’s ability to provide commission-free stock trading on Robinhood. While there are still some aspects of the platform that I don’t like, I am still a loyal user of Robinhood and will continue to use the platform for my long term holdings as a method of not keeping all my eggs in one basket. I have money in Robinhood, Webull, Acorns and Stash all of which are easy for me to check and adjust from my phone.

The Apolitical Umpire and A De Jure Head

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The Apolitical Umpire and A De Jure Head


By Ananya Tyagi, Advocate.


Governor is a constitutional post by the virtue of Article 153 of the Indian Constitution. The Governor   and his functioning has been constantly in news with the floor test called by the Governor in Maharashtra, being debated as illegal before the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court. Floor test is a tool to adjudge if the Chief Minister (i.e. government) still enjoys the confidence of the Assembly and hence the people in the representative capacity. The Chief Minister is called to prove his majority in the house, amongst those present and voting. In case the CM fails to establish his majority in voting, it leads to his resignation along with the council of ministers that sinks with it.   

The Supreme Court held the act of the Governor of Maharashtra calling for the floor test (for the former CM to prove his majority), as unjustified.  In the earlier years after independence, primarily when only one party was in a stable majority both in centre and states, the post never caught peculiar eyes. However, with Indian democracy evolving into a harbinger of multi party system, the constitutional head of the state assumed a peculiar position as a link between the centre & state on one hand and as de jure head of state on the other hand, responsible for an effective federal balance. Another element in news was the recent appointment of the 6 new Governors of the States in February and the transfer of 7 others, making a total of 13. Lt. Gen. Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, Lakshman Prasad Acharya, C P Radhakrishnan, Shiv Pratap Shukla, Gulab Chand Kataria, S. Abdul Nazeer (Former Justice of Supreme Court) were the 5 new appointees. 

Governor for the State

As per the constitutional mandate, there shall be a governor appointed by the President for every State. Article 153 by 7th amendment provided for the provision of appointment of the same      Governor for 2 or more states as such. The executive power of the State, vests in the Governor and is duly exercised by him as per the constitution and the executive actions are as such taken under his name. The Constituent Assembly while framing the constitution, considered the tangents involved in either electing or nominating the Governor. There were tedious concerns that if the Governor is brought in as an elected figure backed by majoritarian mandate, he might project separatist tendencies and work on the behest of concerned political party or ideology in a tussle of power, instead of acting as a link and representative between the centre and the state.

  • He shall be a citizen of India.
  • Governor shall not be a member of either house of parliament or state legislature. In cases where a new appointee is already a member of such a house, then he shall be deemed to have vacated that seat.
  • He should not hold an office of profit.
  • Reserving a bill for the President’s consideration.
  • Recommending/ Report for President’s rule in the State.
  • Acting as Administrator of Union Territories (when accorded an additional charge as an administrator).
  • Calling for information from the Chief Minister, regarding the executive and legislative affairs, whereby the CM is also under a constitutional obligation to convey all the decisions of council by the mandate of Article 167.
  • Governors may ask for submitting for the consideration of the Council, any matter on which a decision has been taken by an individual minister but the matter has not been considered by the council. This objectively fulfils the idea of collective decision and collective responsibility.
  • Assent to the bills passed by the legislature or withholding the same.
  • Calling party to prove the majority in the house. 
  • Governor’s report under Article 356 i.e. the need for ‘State Emergency’ owing to failure of constitutional machinery.


The Apolitical Appointment 

Constitution provides for basic qualifications for appointment of a person as a Governor-

The Governor, like the President, is not supposed to be the member of either house of the Parliament or the legislative assembly or hold an office of profit. To prevent friction and undue influence, the constitution expressly prohibits reducing the emoluments and allowances during his term of office. The elementary idea behind these qualifications was to maintain the neutrality and balanced stance of the Governor, who acts as the bridge between the Central and the State government. The Governor generally acts on the aid and advice of the State’s council of ministers. However, the Governor is vested with some discretionary powers as well. Though there is no exhaustive list of such acts, the Governor is supposed to act with his reasoned discretion ( i.e. without the aid and advice of the council of ministers) in discharge of certain official functions by or under the constitution. Hence, there may be instances where such an exercise of discretion is necessarily implied for purposive fulfillment of constitutional duties.  Consider a case of giving sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister, to meet the objective behind seeking sanction and for a judicious consideration of the question, it necessarily follows that Council headed by the Chief Minister himself cannot have the deciding hand over the issue and hence in cases like these there is an impetus for the Governor to act in discretion, by an imperative implication that can be purposefully deduced.  The decision over the question of existence of discretion on a certain matter in this concern, rests with the Governor himself and is final. This can be inferred by the constitutional provision that creates an embargo on questioning the validity of any act of governor, on account of the fact that he should or should not have exercised his discretion over the act. Extending the same purpose, Article 163 prohibits the court to inquire ‘if any’ and ‘what’ advice was tendered by the council to the Governor and, hence covers both the instances of discretionary and no discretionary acts.  

The Political Loop

Against the intended notion of the Governor being apolitical and a neutral head, the Governor is often seen and criticised as acting on account of the Central government instead. This often leads to struggle and ruckus between the Central government and the State government (ruled by the opposition parties). The conflict is driven by the fact that Article 156 (3) is controlled by Article 156(1) i.e. ordinarily the Governor holds his office for five years but he remains in the office as per the pleasure of the President, as per Article 156 of the Constitution. Unlike impeachment in the case of the President, there is no specific process or ground for removal of the Governor. Back in 1989, when V.P. Singh’s government came to power, the President sought the resignations of all Governors (owing to their appointment by the previous government). The President by rule ordinarily acts on aid and advice of the Council of ministers and hence the ruling party and that in turn becomes the driving force of the Governor, who stays in the office as per President’s discretion without any specific process or grounds of removal or impeachment. This definitely has its fair chance of affecting the efficacious objective and impartial working of a Governor. 

Adding to the glitch, there is no specific provision in the Constitution to deal with or resolve the conflict of opinion between the Governor and the State Government in power. Along with that the appointees are often chosen for and driven by certain political ideologies and political ambitions, that add to the facts of criticism. What remains in hand to uphold the original intent, is to respect the mutual working boundaries and act with neutrality and true official capacity, notwithstanding individual ideologies. Even appointments should be made consciously, to break these alleged loopholes of the power play.  


Views expressed are the author’s own, 

Law Daily neither endorses nor is responsible for them. 



Targeted Advertising: Does it Actually Work?

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Targeted Advertising: Does it Actually Work?


I have a son named Henry. And ever since he was born, I have seen an inordinate amount of personalized baby and toddler items featuring the name “Henry” in my social feeds.

Now, there are two ways to explain this coincidence. 1) Henry is currently a popular name for boys, so the advertisers looked at a baby name list and decided to put Henry on their ads. 2) Facebook and Instagram tracked my online behavior and created tailored ads to increase clicks and conversions.

And the correct explanation is option 2 — targeted advertising!

While this level of personalization may seem creepy and invasive, it can actually make the shopping experience more convenient, especially for people with a son named Henry. And for that, I thank Meta Ads.

But is targeted advertising always this effective?

As many times as I’ve had a smooth shopping experience after clicking on targeted ads, I’ve also been served wonky ads that made me think, “Why in the world did this company target me?”

Before we can conclusively determine the effectiveness of targeted advertising, let’s define what it is.

What is targeted advertising?

Targeted advertising is a form of online advertising that specifically caters to a particular audience based on its characteristics, interests, or behaviors. This allows businesses to reach potential customers who are interested in their products or services.

However, audiences aren’t defined by just one characteristic, which is why advertisers can use different types of targeting to reach their intended audience.

Demographic targeting — Targeting based on factors like age, gender, income, and education.

Geographic targeting — Targeting based on location, such as city, state, or country.

Behavioral targeting — Targeting based on a user’s online behavior, such as browsing history, search history, or purchase history.

Psychographic targeting — Targeting based on personality traits, values, and lifestyles.

Businesses love targeted website advertising because it allows them to deliver more relevant ads, effectively allocate their advertising budget, improve their ROI, and enhance the customer experience. Yep, even though targeted ads can feel like an invasion of privacy, personalized promotions actually improve customer satisfaction.

How can targeted advertising be used for content marketing?

Targeted advertising can be a powerful tool to maximize the impact and reach of your content marketing strategy. Essentially, content marketing provides the substance, while targeted advertising ensures the substance reaches the right audience. Together, they create a more effective and impactful marketing strategy.

But you have to make sure your targeting and content strategy work hand-in-hand to ensure a seamless experience for your customers. First, design ads that encourage users to click through to specific landing pages — blog posts, product pages, customer review pages, etc. Make sure your targeted ads on social media and search engines perfectly align with your landing page content, and visitors will be more likely to become customers.

This approach is all about creating consistency throughout the entire customer journey and can be used to promote high-performing content, retarget website visitors, promote a content series, support social media campaigns, and generate leads.

Is targeted advertising effective?

Here’s the big question: Do ads actually work? To answer that question, we need to look at the numbers:

In 2023, the value of global digital marketing reached $366 billion, and that number is expected to grow at a rate of 13.6% every year for the next decade. In fact, the majority of CMOs in the United States and Europe are planning to increase their budgets for social media marketing, online videos, and influencer marketing in addition to the 9.1% of total revenue spent in 2023.

The reason CMOs are willing to pour more money into digital and targeted advertising is because marketing data collection and analysis is getting more sophisticated every day, leading to more effective ad spend and higher ROI.

Targeted online advertising is only as effective as the advertiser. To create effective targeted advertising campaigns that reach the right audience, generate leads, and drive sales, businesses need to:

  • Gather relevant data
  • Analyze the data to identify trends
  • Clearly define their target audience
  • Develop targeted ads that resonate with their audience
  • Select appropriate channels for their ads
  • Test and optimize
  • And monitor ad performance

Yes, you have to complete all these steps to ensure successful targeted advertising campaigns. And there are a lot of brands who are willing to do it right. And since I just got an “A deal picked just for you” alert on my phone from Amazon, let’s talk about how Amazon uses targeted ads to grow their business:

Amazon’s targeted advertising success

Amazon is a prime example of a company that has effectively leveraged targeted advertising to drive significant growth and revenue. Their targeted advertising strategies have been particularly successful in:

Personalized recommendations

Amazon uses a sophisticated algorithm to analyze customer purchase history, browsing behavior, and product reviews to provide highly personalized product recommendations. These targeted recommendations have led to a significant increase in sales, because customers are more likely to purchase products that align with their interests.

Retargeted campaigns

Amazon uses retargeting campaigns to engage customers with abandoned carts. By reminding customers of their abandoned carts and offering incentives, Amazon successfully increases conversion rates.

Lookalike audiences

Amazon expands its reach by creating lookalike audiences based on its high-value customers. By targeting users with similar characteristics, Amazon is able to acquire new customers who are more likely to complete purchases.

Dynamic product ads (DPAs)

DPAs allow Amazon to target specific products to users who have shown interest in similar items or categories. This targeted approach ensures customers see relevant products, increasing the likelihood of clicks and conversions.

What are the challenges and limitations of targeted advertising?

While targeted advertising offers many benefits, there are some potential challenges and limitations that business owners and marketers should be aware of.

Ethical concerns

Let’s be honest — data collection is creepy. “There is definitely a ‘creepy line’ for targeted advertisements,” says technologist and writer Robert Quinlivan. “We’re being slowly conditioned to accept privacy invasions as inevitable, but people are still creeped out by the ‘surprise’ factor.”

The collection and use of personal data for targeted advertising raises privacy concerns among consumers. The more personal the data (think sex, health, and finances), the less comfortable people are about others knowing it. For this reason, we now have stricter data privacy regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, which have made the targeted advertising process more complex.

Ad fraud

Ad fraud occurs when bad actors put out bots — automated, fake users — to click on ads many times. These extra, fraudulent clicks fool companies into thinking their ads are working and puts more money in the pockets of advertising firms.

According to Imperva’s 2024 Bad Bot Report, “almost 50% of internet traffic comes from non-human sources. Bad bots, in particular, now comprise nearly one-third of all traffic.” What’s even scarier is that Bad Bots can now mimic human behavior, making it difficult to detect and prevent fraudulent clicks.

If you notice sudden traffic spikes, high bounce rates, or near-nonexistent session duration, reach out to your ad provider. You can also implement fraud prevention tools to ensure your clicks are coming from humans.

Over-targeting and ad fatigue

Over-targeting occurs when a business excessively targets a specific audience segment to the point where it becomes intrusive or irrelevant. This can lead to ad fatigue, a phenomenon where consumers become so overwhelmed by repeated exposure to the same ads that they tune them out. Excessive targeting can also lead to negative brand perception if consumers think a brand is spammy or intrusive.

You can prevent over-targeting and ad fatigue by focusing on multiple audiences and limiting your ad frequency. Also, be sure to track campaign performance to identify signs of ad fatigue, so you can make the necessary adjustments to ensure the best customer experience possible.

In short, targeted advertising is complex, and it’s not going anywhere. Yes, new regulations may make data collection more difficult, but targeted advertising has proven to effectively reach specific audiences, increase sales, maximize the impact of content marketing, and improve the customer experience. So, as you create your own targeted advertising campaigns, just remember: don’t be creepy.

Ask the Content Strategist: FAQs about targeted advertising

What are the ethical concerns related to targeted advertising?

Targeted advertising relies on the collection and use of personal data, which can be seen as an invasion of privacy. And consumers may not be fully aware of how their data is collected and used for targeted advertising, creating a lack of trust among consumers. This problem becomes worse when businesses share personal data with third-party advertisers, which often happens.

How can businesses effectively measure the ROI of targeted advertising campaigns?

Here are the key metrics businesses should track and analyze to determine the effectiveness of their targeted advertising campaigns: click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, cost per acquisition (CPA), return on ad spend (ROAS), brand awareness and recall, and customer lifetime value (CLTV).

What are some future trends or developments in targeted advertising?

Targeted advertising is a rapidly evolving field with several promising trends, like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, to help predict future customer behavior and preferences. Businesses will also need to adopt more privacy-focused approaches to data collection, so users can have greater control over their personal data.

For more insights on content strategy, subscribe to The Content Strategist. 

Realtors are women – St. Paul Real Estate Blog

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Realtors are women – St. Paul Real Estate Blog


In 2024 62% of Realtors are women, down from 66% in 2023.  Since 1978 women have dominated Realtor membership. It is Womans History Month and we make history every day. When I see advertising about Realtors I see pictures of young men. The median age of Realtors is 60 but we don’t see many pictures of old women in business.

Women are underrepresented in executive roles in real estate companies. The real estate technology companies and MLS’s (multiple listing service) are run by men with men waiting in the wings to take over when the older men retire. There is a nationwide club.

I have never experienced any kind of discrimination while working in real estate. My pay is based on sales as we are paid on a 100% commission basis, and only after a successful closing. Some people find that scary. It isn’t nearly as scary as being at the mercy of a bad boss or a poorly run company. I can not be fired or laid off and am not at the mercy of a narcissistic boss.

I have been a Realtor for almost 25 years and my company, Boardman Realty turns 10 years old this week. A small local woman-owned and operated business.


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HYDRANGEA CUPCAKE – Sweet Baking Adventures

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HYDRANGEA CUPCAKE – Sweet Baking Adventures


Spring is here!! The month of March is going to be a FLOWER CUPCAKES month!! Every cupcakes are very versatile because you can use any flavor of cupcake, you can decorate it with any color of frosting, both depending on what kind of flower you’d like to make. It’s really easy to make, so get your piping tips ready!!

It all starts with the cupcake, of course. You can bake your cupcake with any flavor you want, but the frosting should be vanilla or cream cheese because then you can color it to any color that your want. I went to the store and pick the flowers that I want to make, then I do color matching for each flower.

To make the petals, you will need a flower nail and some parchment paper squares.

This flower nail is the base of where you’ll make your petals. You can get them in cake decorating store, hobby store, or you can get them in Amazon. Now the parchment paper you can get them already in mini squares but I usually just get my parchment sheet and cut them in squares. Squeeze a little bit of the frosting and place the parchment square on top. The frosting acts as a “glue” so the parchment square does not move around.

Then using a leaf tip or tip #352, we are going to make the petals. Make sure that you rest the piping tip so it is facing like the “>” sign. Different way of holding it, will make a different shape of frosting.

Then you make 4 small petal by rotating the nail for each petals. Here’s a picture and a video on how to make it.

Voila!!! Petals!! Add a dab of green food coloring in the middle to make it more realistic. Then it’s off to work!! Make lots and lots of the petals because hydrangeas has a lot of petals. After you make them, freeze them in the freezer for about 30 minutes to an hour so that it hardens and it will be easier to place on the cupcake. For the cupcake, make sure that it has a dome and not flat. Different cupcake will need different base so you can adjust to what you are making.

Then place the petal that’s already hard on top of the cupcake.

I’m so excited!!!! Look how this Hydrangea cupcake are looking!!

Then add tiny leafs all around to give it more dimension.

There you have it!!! An edible bouquet for the people that you love!!

Happy Baking!!!

Join Thursday Night BBQ Chat August 1st, With Guest Harry Soo!

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Join Thursday Night BBQ Chat August 1st, With Guest Harry Soo!


Harry will be a guest on the August 1, 2024 edition of Thursday Night BBQ Chat, hosted by Steven Kras and It’s All About The BBQ. 

You can join the live feed at 8pm EST / 5pm PST on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTqVUDNEuEw

 

Check out other shows here:

It’s all about the BBQ: https://www.youtube.com/live/RTqVUDNEuEw?si=fboSNu6yS2qtk8k1

BBQ, Blackstone and Beer: https://www.youtube.com/live/Joer6Ro27bo?si=TXGJ3K4Qj88H8FHR

How AI Is Changing Beer

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How AI Is Changing Beer


Artificial intelligence has emerged as one of the most relevant technological, social, and economic phenomena of the decade. It’s also become one of the most-feared advancements—viewed as a potential threat to humans’ job security. It would seem as though it has taken over just about everything—from kids’ homework and customer service, to self-driving cars and military intelligence-gathering. No industry has been too far from its reach, including craft beer.

sugar creek brewing taproom interior

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, like many companies and entrepreneurs across the country, craft brewers are looking at how AI might improve efficiency and the overall brewing experience. One of the prime examples is Sugar Creek Brewing Company in Charlotte, N.C., which uses AI and a network of devices to monitor the quality of its packaged beer, including temperature, fill level, and foam level.

However, beyond the standpoint of business and operations, brewers and other industry professionals are also experimenting with the tech to test its creativity. They’re seeing if AI can push the envelope on recipe development and flavor.

Craft breweries in different parts of the country have already concocted AI-generated beers. This includes Asbury Park Brewery in Asbury Park, N.J. and Atwater Brewing in Detroit, Mich., each with their own AI-IPAs, and Urban Forest Craft Brewing in Rockford, Ill. which released a brew called Put the AI in sAIson.

Michael Oxton, co-founder of Night Shift Brewing in Boston, used OpenAI’s industry-leading large language model ChatGPT to make a hazy IPA. “It was fully capable of putting together a recipe with instructions and a water profile and suggested hops,” says Oxton. He and his team were particularly impressed by AI’s ability to come up with a target water profile within minutes, saying,  “It might take us a few weeks or even a month to come up with something like that based on a lot of research and testing.”

lineup of canned nightshift beers

Night Shift’s head brewer drew up a batch resulting in what they called AI-PA—a beer that first hits you with a burst of mango and watermelon, and ends with citrusy lemon-lime notes. Oxton summed up, “It was delicious.”

Brewing Outside the Box

Instead of using ChatGPT or other commercially available models, Species X Beer Project took things a step further. For Species X, founder Beau Warren had two different “species” of beer: the AI-created Silicon Species, and his own human-made recipes for the Carbon Species. Warren—who has studied both beer microbiology and data analytics—programmed seven different AI models himself for the Silicon Species.

species x neon sign with hazy beer

He wrote code to build each model using a combination of two types of machine-learning techniques: regression models and neural networks. Each of the models he coded was then trained using proprietary data and information on different styles of beer (including water chemistry, yeast, hops, flavor profiles, ABV, human-made recipes that have worked in the past, etc.). He also used data from his Carbon Species, including customer and internal reviews, to teach his AI models what the parameters for a highly rated beer are. And Warren created models to focus on specific styles of beer—one for IPAs and others for lagers, fruited sours, smoothie beers, low-alcohol beers, and even hard seltzers.

“Some of these recipes are so out of left field, I cannot imagine myself sitting down and creating one of these recipes by myself,” says Warren. “It throws tradition out the window entirely.” Of course, the models have guardrails coded into them (except the Beh3moth model, which is trained on all types of beers with minimal parameters), mainly to make sure they can brew the beers within the laws of physics and not break any of their equipment.

One of the wildest brews Warren has ever worked on was an amber lager made with 100% Maris Otter malt, which is typically reserved for bitters, porters, and stouts for a rich, malty flavor. In the end, AI didn’t steer him wrong and he came out with a well-balanced lager that turned out to be a hit.

Beh3moth also created an imperial pastry Baltic porter using a plethora of ingredients. The recipe involved three different types of fruit, coffee, vanilla, 12 different types of malts, lactose, and marshmallows. Then the batch was dry-hopped like a New England IPA. “Absolutely insane, but tasted amazing and balanced,” summed up Warren. “Literally unlike anything I have ever had in my life.”

Each of Warren’s AI-generated creations is unique, clearly built from the ground up, down to the water profile. He says, “It’s not like we’re using the same base recipes, swapping out hops, or we’re doing a fruited sour and swapping out fruit. These things are completely brand new, beer to beer, and we can do it quick.”

Moreover, it’s not just craft breweries that are expanding the creative possibilities of craft beer using AI. Colorado-based yeast propagation facility Propagate Lab has given brewers the opportunity to come up with creations that go against the grain with their AI chatbot “Yeast Buddy.”

Yeast Buddy helps clients filter through a database of more than 120 yeast strains and narrow it down to the one that best suits the beer style, flavor profile, and other parameters for their specific brew. It’s kind of like an automated library catalog, making sure brewers don’t need to go through the tedious Dewey Decimal System.

As a result, brewers have easier access and are able to discover the diversity of yeasts at Propagate Lab, allowing them to break away from defaulting to the “standard.” Instead of going for a strain that a friend used or choosing something familiar, they have a chance to be more adventurous.

“With beer, there are so many different ingredients between hundreds of hop varietals, hundreds of malt choices, and several hundred yeast choices,” explains Matthew Peetz, founder of Propagate Lab. “[Yeast Buddy’s] giving them more options in terms of putting together a recipe, rather than being pigeonholed with what you used before in your batches of beer.”

Is This a Taproom Takeover?

With the conversation on machine learning comes the looming thought that AI might take over industries and jobs. If robots can be baristas, what’s stopping them from infiltrating the taproom? After all, AI only gets smarter by the minute. However, the truth of the matter is that it’s not yet poised to replace humans.

“It was like having a brewing assistant right by your side that could come up with ideas,” describes Oxton of his experience using AI. Admittedly, while the original AI-PA recipe fresh from ChatGPT was a hit, Night Shift had to make a few human adjustments in order to work with ingredients and materials they had available, for practicality and preference. And while creating the AI-generated art for AI-PA’s label, Night Shift’s designer had to make some modifications to fix some kinks and get it ready to display on a can.

“I think, if anything, it was like a creativity enhancement more than a replacement,” says Oxton. He adds that an AI assistant might be more useful to a newbie still trying to learn the ropes, as opposed to a head brewer with over 10 years of experience.

There is no denying that AI models are wildly impressive, especially with Species X’s being particularly powerful and accurate in terms of hitting the mark on flavor profiles. But Warren emphasizes that a human still needs to be in the loop. “AI needs humans to, first of all, put guardrails on it,” he says. “And then second of all, to introduce new training data. Otherwise, you’re going to be stuck with a non-updated model forever, essentially.”

AI still needs someone to pull all the strings, feed it the correct information, and vet the results it yields in order to make sure they are sound. Peetz echoes this sentiment, saying, “It’s as useful as a calculator. If you are punching in the wrong numbers, you’re going to get the wrong result.”

Taking a Step Back

For now, though AI is readily available, the craft beer industry has nothing to fear. The full picture of this technology’s future as it applies to beer is still uncertain. (At the time of publishing, Species X had permanently closed its doors after two years of operation, due to economical constraints.) However, what is clear is AI’s potential not just to streamline business systems, but to help brewers knock down creative barriers.

Warren says, “It makes humans superhumans, essentially, because of how powerful it is, as long as it’s used in the right way.”

Jasmine Ting is a Filipino journalist based in New York City, and has published with Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and more. She’s written about many things within the lifestyle and culture space, but food and beverage will always be her first love.

CraftBeer.com is fully dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Association or its members.



Make Shortcuts App More Powerful With Toolbox Pro App

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Make Shortcuts App More Powerful With Toolbox Pro App


Toolbox Pro app iPhone

Shortcuts app makes it possible for iOS users to create useful shortcuts and perform various different actions with ease. While the Shortcuts app is full of very powerful and complex actions there’s a lot that is missing from the stock app.

That’s where the Toolbox Pro app comes in. This is a companion app for Apple’s Shortcuts app that lets you take advantage of over 130 new actions inside Shortcuts.

When you launch the Toolbox Pro app you get a list of tools and examples of how you can take advantage of the tools. However to take advantage of these tools you have to open the Shortcuts app and search for “Toolbox” when adding an action.

Some of the new tools that you get access to thanks to the Toolbox Pro app include the following:

  • OCR functionality
  • Document Scanner
  • Biometric Authetnication
  • Icon Generator
  • Menu Creator
  • Ability to recognize objects in images with machine learning
  • Full-screen text input box
  • Transcribe speech from audio files
  • Ability to store data in global variables between shortcuts and devices
  • and more…

Toolbox Pro app follows a premium model in which you can unlock everything with an in-app purchase. You do get access to around 40 tools for free without getting a premium subscription, which is nice.

You can download the Toolbox Pro app from the App Store where it is available as a free download.

Disclosure: iOSHacker may receive a commission if you purchase products through our affiliate links. For more visit our privacy policy page.



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