Nothing will kill a high quicker than reaching for your vape and finding the battery dead just as you’re about to pull. Then you’re frantically looking for the proprietary charging cord, which you can’t find anywhere, and now the high is gone too and you’re left with a bad movie to stream on Netflix and a useless vape.
This is why TOQi CEO and founder Drew Henson (of SEAM fame) created the industry’s first wireless charging cannabis vape, the TOQi 510. This artfully designed, sleek vape is equipped with Qi-technology, which can also be found in Samsung’s Galaxy Note10. Qi technology allows the TOQi 510, and the Note10, to be charged wirelessly. No cord, no problem. Just use any Qi-equipped charging device, like TOQi’s Wireless Charging Pad.
Created to always be ready, the TOQi 510 boasts twice the battery size of similar vapes, at 400mAh (compared to 240mAh) and will quickly charge to 85% power in 20 minutes. The TOQi 510 also features a USB-C port so that you can use any charging cord to power your TOQi.
Reading this excellent CNET profile of Craig Newmark reminded me of one of the highlights of SXSW 2019: getting to hear Craigslist founder Craig Newmark discuss his philanthropy and philosophy with Inc editor Jon Fine.
Inc editor Jon Fine (L) with Craigslist founder Craig Newmark
A refreshing contrast from the aggressive capitalism espoused by the Jeff Bezoses of the tech world, Newmark shared his simple philosophy on business. For Newmark, he knew when “enough was enough” financially, and focused more on ensuring a positive experience for users. Fine asked Newmark, “how do you know when enough is enough?” Newmark answered that that was up to the individual.
At Craigslist, the design philosophy was to keep things so simple and straightforward that it was obvious how to use it. “I didn’t know how to design but I knew ‘simple’ and ‘fast’ as design principles, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Newmark told Fine.
Today, Craigslist maintains the same design philosophy. To say that it’s rare to find a technology company maintaining both the same design philosophy and business ethos from its inception is an understatement (Oh hello, Google, how’s that “don’t be evil” motto working out for you?). Can you think of any other technology company that is still thriving, that looks nearly identical to its design from ten years ago?
Craigslist has also never branched out from classified listings. As Newmark stated, he wanted Craigslist to focus on doing one thing really well. Competitors have tried to take market share, including OfferUp, LetGo and Facebook Marketplace, so it’ll remain to be seen if Craigslist can remain the standard. One thing’s for sure, it doesn’t seem like Newmark will be too concerned.
Craigslist has had its fair share of controversies, and Newmark himself admitted that he wasn’t the best manager during his tenure as CEO. But a tech founder who knew when “enough was enough,” willingly foregoing millions in further profit in order to focus on philanthropy, is pretty damn admirable in any age, let alone today’s gilded one where founders will sell their own mothers for extra Soylent from the Facebook cafeteria.
The LGBTQ market is a strong one, growing in influence and spending power, so it’s natural that many companies would do what they can to sell to this demographic.
The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce cites the community’s spending power at $917 billion. As cultural attitudes shift, brands are learning how to market to the LGBTQ demographic and embracing the rainbow more than ever.
Whether you’re a mom-and-pop shop or a Fortune 500 brand, you need to be transparent and authentic when marketing to LGBTQ consumers on social media. Here’s how you can improve your current strategy or be prepared for next year.
1) Donate to an LGBTQ-friendly foundation
This is one of the simplest, most effective ways to authentically market your business on social for Pride Month. If you’re a small business, find a local charity or foundation that helps the LGBTQ community. There are also several nationally recognized foundations (such as The Trevor Project) that you could donate to.
This #PrideMonth, we'll be donating all profits from our Overwatch League Pride shirts to @EqualityFL, as well as a flat $5 per shirt sold.
You can promote that proceeds from a specific item will go to that charity. In general, it helps to say how much of the proceeds will go to the foundation, whether it’s a percentage or set dollar amount per sale. This gives your fans trust that the money is going to a good place, rather than just a vague promise.
Another way to be authentic during Pride Month is to highlight your company’s efforts in fostering an inclusive culture and being a destination that’s welcoming for employees of all backgrounds.
Using social media to showcase your business as a welcoming space for talented, dynamic LGBTQ employees makes your company much more versatile and diverse. Potential employees who might not have considered you otherwise may now check out your careers page, putting your business on the radar of more people.
While it’s good to show that your company is inclusive and accepting, don’t single out your LGBTQ and ally employees, but let them share their stories, if they volunteer. It has to be more than empty platitudes or photos of employees at the local Pride parade.
Ensuring that you have an inclusive culture (not just putting up a front on social) signals to the LGBTQ community that you actually care about them beyond sales and subscriptions.
3) Don’t just slap a rainbow on & call it good
If you’re not able to designate an item to sell, with defined proceeds going to a foundation, and you don’t have an LGBTQ story ready to share, it’s okay. You can still share a photo or graphic sharing your support of Pride Month without some kind of hard sell.
Where some companies err is thinking that Pride Month is the time to make money off rainbow-themed merchandise or check a box after they’ve added rainbow colors to their profile logo.
If a store doesn't donate the proceeds from it's Pride collection to a LGBTQ+ organization don't shop at that store.
On social media, the clap back against companies who simply see the LGBTQ community as another customer has been strong. Much like how many brands commercialize pink items with vague support of breast cancer awareness, yet don’t explain how the proceeds help, companies can commit a terrible error by selling the rainbow without the support.
One of our favorite things about building Change Communications has been the opportunity to get involved in new communities where we do business. We love doing good work and trying to give something back. Along the way, we get to meet and collaborate with passionate and brilliant entrepreneurs, dreamers, and do-ers. It’s a good life.
With our 10-year anniversary upon us and an expanding clientele on the west coast, we’re excited to announce Change Communications is expanding to the greater Phoenix area, with a new office opening its doors.
Dan Strickland, VP of Marketing, will lead the Phoenix office. “Phoenix has a wealth of talent,” said Strickland. There’s an incredible network of entrepreneurs, creatives, and risk-takers here, and we’re excited to provide these businesses the PR and marketing services that they deserve.
Phoenix was selected for its thriving economy and its vibrant business climate, driven by both dynamic young startups and established players in the technology, bio-tech, and hospitality sectors.
In addition, Phoenix boasts a rich diversity of innovative nonprofits. From social justice to youth counseling to yoga and mindfulness, all of them are doing important work, and we look forward partnering with them.
“We have ambitious plans for this thriving area of the Southwest,” said Katy Lim, Change Communication’s Managing Director. “We can’t wait to dive in and start getting to know our new friends and colleagues.”
Contact us to find out how your business can benefit from our PR and marketing services.
We are giddy with joy to announce that our client, TV4 Entertainment, was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2019! It’s an incredible honor and we can’t thank Fast Company enough for the recognition. Congratulations to the hard-working TV4 Entertainment team and their many partners!
In the Film/TV category, TV4 Entertainment was named along with powerhouses Netflix, Participant, Warner Bros, Blumhouse and A24. Not bad company to be in! Read more about why TV4 Entertainment was honored here: https://www.fastcompany.com/company/tv4-entertainment
We always believe that it’s just an honor to be nominated, but to quote the great Vince Lombardi, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
January 22 might have been known as the day the Academy Awards announced their 91st annual nominees but for us, it’s the day that SXSW announced their Interactive Innovation Award finalists. Included in this prestigious group was our very own client, SEAM Technic. We are so thrilled for our friends at SEAM! Take that, Meryl Streep! You might have 3 Oscars but do you have a SXSW Interactive Innovation award?? I didn’t think so!
We’ll be joining SEAM at SXSW and we’ll be showing off the Lotus by SEAM personal safety wearable in the Innovation Award finalist exhibitions at the Austin Convention Center Exhibit Hall 1 on Saturday, March 9 from 12pm – 6pm. If you’re going to SXSW, please stop by the booth and bring us a beer! Other things we’ll accept: Food, BBQ, a cowboy hat, money.
SXSW has grown into one of the must-attend annual events so we’re very excited to go and even more excited to see SEAM honored. Let us know your best tips, survival guides and places to go in Austin by tweeting us at @ChangePR.
This little PR pro is pitching Santa to write about his client’s iPhone case; Photo by @MikeArney
Our sources are prepping their out-of-office replies, stories still have to be filed and we’re all just trying to hang on until the company holiday party (with a cash bar). It’s a special time of unrequited phone calls and frustration, with a pinch of lower standards at times.
With all this in mind, how can you successfully pitch journalists before – and during – the holiday lull?
We’re a little more accepting during the holidays
The stories we’re really chasing are likely about to go into a holding pattern, as government officials and CEOs get the luxury of taking long vacations around this time. Even the ones that stick around until a few days before Christmas Eve don’t really want to deal with the hassle of a journalist.
We’ve still got to post something to our websites and fill those column inches somehow. The closer we get to New Year’s Eve, the more we tire of hearing, “Hi, you’ve reached” when we call someone.
This can be a great time to pitch stories that might be more on the fringe of our coverage base. If you’re responsive, can deliver your sources and have a relevant story wrapped up like a present, we’ll be more likely to put you on the nice list at this time.
Our readership is still hungry for content in December, so writers might be a little more flexible when you pitch.
With that said:
Don’t think we’re desperate
Just because our sources may be unavailable in December and we’re scrambling to get stuff posted, it doesn’t mean that you can dust off an old pitch, add a holiday keyword or two and expect us to publish.
If it’s something that we’re not going to be interested in at all in September, our feelings probably haven’t changed since then. While we acknowledge your plight, clients still want placement, no matter what, we know what our editor and readers will think if we submit something with only a flimsy connection to our beat or location.
As always, the more time you give us, the better. While we likely have more time to answer your email, DM or phone call, that also means we’re reading your pitch more closely. There are plenty of ways to refresh a story idea for the holidays, but it might take some digging and ingenuity.
You can look back at stories a website or publication has done around this time last year to get a better sense of what flies with the readership. A lot of the holiday content has been planned for weeks, if not months, so your best bet would be figuring out ways that your story could be complementary (or even unique) to what we’ve already got planned.
Get a jump on 2019
A bedrock of content around this time: predictions about the new year.
These are quick, easy and digestible pieces to which readers often respond well. If you’re scrambling to get your client one last placement before the ball drops, think about offering a listicle guest post or an interview where an expert from your client shines a light on the future of their industry.
This helps out in a few ways. It’s easy content to publish and it makes your client look innovative and forward-thinking. Some writers can even gain story ideas from these lists and want to follow up with your client’s CEO or expert at a future date.
December is a great time to pitch evergreen story ideas that we can work on now and post in early January.
You can also take this time to plant seeds for January and early spring. As we discussed before, the holidays can be a slow period for writers. If you were too late with pitching a holiday-related story, this could be a perfect opportunity to work together on something that helps us start the new year strong.
When you think of non-weaponized personal safety devices, most currently available ones are panic buttons or cheap GPS trackers – single feature solutions that only induce more fear.
With the new Lotus by SEAM and the SEAM personal safety platform, our Toronto-based client solves this issue by enabling you to share your contextual data – GPS location, full-streaming audio and images – real-time with your chosen contacts. This allows your chosen contact(s) to know exactly what the situation is, whether negative or positive, and how to help you, if you need it.
The Lotus aims to make people feel safer by connecting them naturally to their social circles. The sleek, gender-neutral wearable device works with the free standalone SEAM app to allow you to record your GPS location, images and full-streaming audio.
If you want to share your journey with one of your five designated guardians, you can do that. And for its coolest feature, if you’re in an emergency and can’t pull your phone out of your bag or pocket, you can press a button on the Lotus and it will call one of your guardians directly, allowing you to have a hands-free phone call. On Android devices, you can designate emergency services like 911 to be one of your contacts.
In addition, the Lotus features Voice Assistant access, so clip it on your shirt, press a button and ask Siri what the weather is, or have Google Assistant send a text message for you, all directly from the Lotus device.
The Lotus would come in handy if you’re traveling, work late at night, take public transportation (like I do), use Uber or Lyft, or often find yourself in a situation where you’re alone and not completely comfortable. It’s not about living in fear, but about love.
And we could all use some more love.
Interested in reviewing the Lotus? Hit us up for a review unit. Email katy(at)bethechangepr.com
While it’s becoming harder and harder to determine what is “fake news,” the real news has always been there for you in physical newsstands all over your city.
As daily newspapers continue to suffer budget cuts and mass layoffs, they simply aren’t able to cover their communities as thoroughly as they have for decades.
That’s where the weeklies and alt publications come into play. These have become the bedrock of local media, uncovering corruption, giving small businesses a chance to advertise and letting people know when an art gallery is opening.
For PR professionals, alt publications should not be overlooked. The grim reality, as illustrated below by the Denver Post, is that with each day, our journalism counterparts are doing more and more with less and less.
The Denver Post took this group photo to celebrate winning the Pulitzer 5 years ago. Then hedge fund Alden Global Capital bought them. This is who's left after layoffs
If you have a hyper-local pitch or a tip that requires a little more investigation, you’re better off picking up the phone and calling your alt-weekly in many cases.
According to the National Newspaper Association, there are more than 7,000 non-daily newspapers in the country, compared to just over 1,400 daily publications. Non-daily newspapers have a circulation of more than 65 million people.
However, these community publications are in dire trouble. Pew Research Center tracks the state of journalism each year, offering a sobering reality. Their most recent findings show that average circulation among the top 20 U.S. alt-weeklies has dipped precipitously from just over 87,000 in 2012 to around 55,000 in 2017.
So what can be done?
1) Newspaper as a nonprofit
Many publications, daily and weekly, have converted into nonprofits in order to still serve their communities.
This eases newspapers of the burden of needing to turn a profit, but also comes with several hurdles. On the bright side, these journalistic entities aren’t beholden to shareholders and won’t be subject to mass layoffs out of need to be in the black.
However, this isn’t a perfect solution. In this model, newspapers lean heavily on benefactors, readers and other donors. It can be hard to remain stable when funding can change drastically from year-to-year.
While many papers have become nonprofits (or at least started the process), it’s too soon to say whether or not this is viable long-term. Some outlets have even turned to crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter to bankroll projects.
2) Refocus on strengths
Washington City Paper might be one of the lucky ones. Purchased last year by VentureHouse CEO Mark Ein, the new owner believes in the publication’s ability to connect with readers.
Most newspapers are purchased by firms that just want to run it like a traditional business, bleed it for profit, then flip to a high bidder. Rinse, lather, repeat. Reporters get laid off, corruption goes uncovered, underserved communities remain ignored.
But Ein purchased Washington City Paper (a mainstay in our nation’s capital since 1981) with the vision of staying out of editorial decisions. But even with a focus on high-quality coverage, there’s still plenty of room for a publication to be financially viable.
Recode wrote about Ein’s plans for the newspaper earlier this year:
“Arts organizations currently provide about 80 percent of the paper’s advertising revenue,” Ein said. But there’s another audience that buys twice as many tickets in town, sports fans, so he hopes to attract ad money from that side of the aisle by adding a sports section that will cover the behind-the-scenes-story of the athletes and the teams.
3) Tax Facebook and Google
Facebook has been on somewhat of a public apology tour this year, after the proliferation of “fake news” spread like wildfire on the network.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to make things right after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook has even turned to traditional media, airing a commercial promising to make changes and restore quality to the site.
As recently as August 2017, Pew found that 67 percent of Americans polled said they get at least some of their news from social media. Publishers are increasingly called to post stories to Facebook, but on Facebook’s terms.
If Facebook really wants to settle the score, it can pay up. A blossoming idea is for social media platforms, which have received so much content from media publishers, to be taxed, with money going back into newsrooms.
“Public-media tax on Facebook and Google’s earnings would generate significant resources for a journalism trust fund,” wrote Victor Pickard, Associate Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, in The Nation. One percent of their 2017 net income, which these firms could certainly afford, would yield $159.34 million from Facebook and $126.62 million from Google/Alphabet, a combined $285.96 million. This money could seed an endowment for independent journalism, especially if combined with other philanthropic contributions from foundations and benefactors that accumulate over time.
Facebook and Google have already started such efforts, but more can be done. Google has earmarked $300 million over three years for its News Initiative, aimed at battling misinformation and helping media outlets monetize their content. Facebook has also announced a $3 million journalism accelerator, but it’s to help organizations build content on the social network.
This is far from an easy situation to solve, but definitely a worthwhile one.
Besides losing our minds over The Pharcyde, the Cannabis Equity Summit raises critical issues about who is benefitting from the legalization of marijuana, and the fact that the communities who were most adversely affected by the war on drugs are still awaiting reparations. Let’s not forget that there are still thousands of people in jail over minor marijuana convictions – and let’s also not forget that most of these people are people of color. While opportunistic vultures like John Boehner attempt to cash in on the pot craze, people still sit in jail, or have had their lives irreparably damaged from marijuana convictions.
Chances are, John Boehner has never shed a tear for people whose lives were ruined by minor pot infractions
The Cannabis Equity Summit seeks to address these critical concerns with a distinguished panel of community activists and leaders in the marijuana industry.
After we get these heady discussions out of the way, it’ll be time to lose our minds over the brilliance of The Pharcyde, as well as performances from local artists Ryan Nicole, Shy’An G and Hip Hop For Change founder Khafre Jay.
