This year, the northern summer solstice falls on June 21 at 5:13 am EDT (June 21 at 9:13 UT). Solstices occur simultaneously around the world, but their local times vary with time zones.  Traditionally, summer and winter solstices helped mark the changing of the seasons. Today, meteorologists officially use temperature records instead to draw lines between the seasons.

Summer and winter solstices

The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted about 23. degrees relative to Earth's orbit around the sun. This tilt causes the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to get unequal amounts of sunlight over a year. The Earth's axis is tilted most closely toward the sun for two moments each year. These are called solstices. The Northern Hemisphere is tilted more toward the sun from September to March, which feels like autumn and winter. The hemisphere tilted most toward our home star sees its longest day and the hemisphere tilted away from the sun sees its longest night.

Understanding solstices

Cultures around the world have devised ways to celebrate and revere celestial events. <ul><li>Stonehenge, a 5,000-year-old monument, has a famously special relationship with the solstices. On the summer solstice, the complex’s Heel Stone, which stands outside Stonehenge’s main circle, lines up with the rising sun.</li><li>The Great Pyramids at Giza also seem to be aligned with the sun. When viewed from the Sphinx, the sun sets between the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre during the summer solstice.</li></ul>

Celebrating the solstice 

<ul><li>The solstices mark the brightest and darkest days of the year, but the temperatures don't reflect that because it takes time for Earth's land and water to heat up and cool down.</li><li>Some believe that since Earth's rotation is slowing down, each new solstice sets a new record for daytime length. But that's not the case. Instead, changes in the distribution of Earth's mass can subtly tweak our plant's rotation rate.</li></ul>

Misconceptions about the solstices

Once a year, an astronomical alignment ushers in this seasonal change. The summer solstice is celebrated across the world—and shrouded in myth.

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

What is the summer solstice? Here’s what you need to know.

<ul><li>The language we use is determined by "weak tie" relationships, that is, with strangers and interlocutors. For the first time in history, the internet provides an entire world of weak ties. </li><li>The result is that internet language has evolved in different stages. If you remember MUDs, AIM, or Habbo Hotel, you might remember internet language differently. </li><li>"Lol" has a huge variety of linguistic uses, and it is a fascinating example of how internet vocabulary serves IRL (in real life) needs.</li></ul>

The Web And How We Talk: Key Takeaways

<ul><li>Naughty,” in Shakespeare’s England, was to be a “naught person” — a soulless, wicked, half-man. </li><li> “Awful” and “awesome” once meant the same. (They both meant “awesome.”) </li><li>To be “generous” once meant to be of noble and pure blood. (Only they could be magnanimous, you see.) </li><li>If you were “disappointed” you were quite literally removed from office — you were fired.</li></ul>

Language: Then and Now

Language has always changed, but it does so as a slow trawl and rarely ventures far. Semantic shift operates like a tree, growing slowly but resolutely, and it’s only with the time-lapse of retrospection that we can see how far it has come.But then, at the end of the 20th century, something peculiar happened to the world. Suddenly the tiny, isolated communities and regional variations were thrown together. We had the internet.

When Tankers Become a Speedboat

The internet makes language change faster because it leads to more weak ties, and you can get to know people who you never would have met otherwise. With hashtags, viral videos, and “following” strangers, we are constantly rubbing up against people of different linguistic communities. Whereas before we would only occasionally meet or form these “weak ties,” now we’re swimming in a sea of linguistic foreigners and interlocutors.

Strong and Weak Ties

They were the early adopters of the internet. Because few of their IRL (in real life) friends were online, these people needed to use “topic-based tools like Usenet, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes), Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs), listservs, and forums” to reach out to strangers. Usenet was the most common, serving as an ancestor to Reddit and Google Groups

The Generations of Internet Users: The Old Internet People

The main difference between this generation and the previous is in seeing the internet as a social medium. The Old Internet People mainly kept their social lives offline, but the second wave turned to MSN, AOL/AIM, MySpace, and WeBlog to connect with friends as well as strangers. Slowly, MySpace gave way to Facebook and Twitter, via social gaming sites like NeoPets and Habbo Hotel.

Social Internet

If you can remember joining social networks when they were still unpopulated, niche, fledgling things, then you likely belong to the above generation. If, though, you joined an already bustling online world of social networks, this is your generation. In this group, there are two noticeable clusters: the first is the “Facebook cluster” (which includes Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube), and the second is the “Instant Messaging” cluster (which includes Snapchat, Instagram, iMessage, and WhatsApp).

Post-Internet

The internet mainstay, 'lol' serves a fascinating variety of functions.Of course, it still acts as an expression of laughter and enjoyment. You can reply to a joke with “lol” and capitalize or give it an exclamation mark if you really liked it. But “lol” also has other uses. It is a way to soften a potentially misread or offensive message, as in, “You were so drunk last night lol.” It can be a way to flirt: “You look good in red lol.” It can express or underline sarcasm, “This lecture is so fun lol.” It can even be passive-aggressive, “You better buy me a present lol.”

The depth to lol

Internet language evolved in stages. If you remember MUDs, AIM, or Habbo Hotel, you might remember it all differently... lol.

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

communication

Communication

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

How the internet changed our language

Most professionals begin their presentations by sharing background information, details surrounding the circumstances for you being there, or explaining the journey of a product or service. While context is important, it inadvertently obscures your purpose. Starting off with too much context up-front can mean you risk executives disengaging quickly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Presenting to Executives- Leading With Context

You may fall into the trap of believing a longer presentation equates to greater value. In other words, you may assume that the more data and justification you present, the stronger your case will be. This isn’t true. Executives value brevity. It signals your mastery over a subject.

Talking Too Much or Rambling

It’s crucial to prepare in advance of meeting with executives, but there is also such a thing as over-preparation. Often, clients rehearse their talk word-for-word. This backfires when your time slot is cut short or an executive throws an unexpected question your way, like in the scenario described earlier.

Being Too Attached to Your Script

Pre-wiring is a form of doing your homework, and serves as few purposes:<ul><li>You can surface concerns and defuse objections, making negotiation easier.</li><li>You can gain valuable insight about what executives already know and potential gaps in knowledge so you can tailor your content.</li><li>You can uncover new details or consideration that lead you to adjust your presentation.</li><li>You can research their biggest pain points and criteria for making decisions.</li></ul>

How to Present to Executives with Confidence: Plan A Preemptive Meeting

“B.L.U.F.” is an acronym that comes from the military and stands for “bottom line up front.” Instead of making the mistake of leading with context, you instead get to the point quickly. You beginyour presentation with the most important information first – whether that’s your request, call-to-action, solution, recommendation, or key conclusion – which helps you be perceived as a crisp, concise communicator.

Focus on “B.L.U.F.”

Another useful model is the SCQA format:<ul><li>Situation. What is the context? Who are the players involved?</li><li>Complication. What is the problem? What are the risks and opportunities?</li><li>Question. What is your hypothesis? How can you overcome hurdles or capitalize on opportunities?</li><li>Answer. What is your proposed solution? What data or insights back up your conclusion?</li></ul>

Make Your Material Memorable

The job of an executive is to focus on the bigger picture of an organization. They deal in vision and strategy, not implementation and execution. That’s why your presentation needs to focus on the what and why, not the how.

Hit All the Areas of Concern

Executives are notorious for interrupting. They will have questions, and they won’t wait until the formal Q&A time to ask them.One strategy is structuring your presentation like an accordion. In other words, design it so that you can expand or shorten it as needed.Lastly, leave ample time for discussion. Follow the 10/30 rule: if you have 30 minutes on the agenda, plan for 10 minutes of content and earmark the rest for interaction. Anticipate questions seniors leaders may have, so that you’re ready to answer them on the spot.

Keep It Flexible 

It’s easy to think members of the C-suite will be highly critical. However, they respond to great presentation skills just like any other team member. 


career

Career

How to win a presentation in front of your top executive

A great sales email sequence needs more work than writing a few pitches. Your AEs and SDRs are a vital part of the content creation process and need to be fully committed to succeed long-term.

Creating sales email sequences

Assign one person to stay focused on writing and measuring the success of your content. Your frontline reps should buy in to the new sales sequences. Ask what your SDRs hear from their prospects as they speak directly with customers. Steps to ensure new content has buy-in and approval:<ul><li>Frontline reps submit their ideas for new content.</li><li>The Sequence Specialist should ensure a use case and that the content doesn't already exist, then write the content.</li><li>The Content Review Crew helps finalise the sequence.</li></ul>

Build your content team

Sales reps should feel part of the content creation process to increase their chances of using the sequences. When you involve reps:<ul><li>Use their time wisely. Once a month is enough to review content.</li><li>Review all content, and come prepared with adoption statistics.</li><li>Ensure quality by encouraging the reps to use the proper sequences.</li></ul>

Capturing your reps hearts

For larger companies, SDRs often use up to 100 sequences, while smaller companies can use 10 or 15 sales sequences. Content supply chain steps:<ul><li>Brainstorming new content ideas</li><li>Ensuring content ideas connect to actual use cases</li><li>Writing the content</li><li>Uploading and formatting the content</li><li>Measuring adoption</li><li>Measuring performance</li><li>Managing the technical operations</li></ul> A simple sequence-structure should include three paragraphs:<ul><li>Personalisation based on personas.</li><li>Value proposition. Connect the pains of each persona to how your product solves the problems.</li><li>Call to action, such as a demo or webinar.</li></ul>

Developing your sequence strategy

<ul><li>Keep it short. The whole email should fit on a phone screen without scrolling.</li><li>The email must be about your customer, not about the rep or company.</li><li>Talk about value propositions, not the features or benefits of your products.</li><li>Use simple language.</li><li>Avoid information overload. That is why we have sequences.</li><li>Each email should have a standalone value and is distinct from other messages in the sequence.</li><li>Include phone calls or LinkedIn messages for variety.</li><li>Send prospects things that drive value, such as an eBook or webinar invitation.</li></ul>

Best practices for creating sales sequences

Testing different versions of your email copy can help you sharpen your message. However, test one thing at a time and in an isolated way. For example, test if adding a link to an email affects deliverability. Or how the length of a subject line performs.

How to A/B test your sequences

Creating and perfecting your sales sequence takes time

Sales engagement tools help sales reps reach more prospects in less time. But what happens if you create content and nobody uses it? To prevent this from happening, engage your reps in the content creation process to create sequences that stick and personalize at scale.

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

How to Create Sales Sequences Your Reps Will Actually Use - Sales Hacker

Danielle Strachman is the co-founder and General Partner at 1517 fund, and co-founder of Innovations Academy. She was part of the founding team of The Thiel Fellowship where she worked with many now well-known founders.Previous to her work with Peter Thiel, Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving four hundred students, with a focus on student-led project-based learning and other alternative programs.

Beyond Work with Founder and Investor Danielle Strachman

I have a guest room/art room/co-founder room (when he’s here in the Bay Area) that I’ve been using as my primary work area. I can sit on the daybed as a couch, and use the bookshelf as a standing desk so I can move around a bit. I have two cats, Meera and Tulip, and I’ve setup a cat bed in this room so my “co-workers” can hang with me too :)

What is your current WFH setup?

I am excited to see people trying things they’ve never tried before like working from home, Online learning, Home-Schooling, and even little things now. On Instagram, I did a dance session with 2,000+ people, that was wild! I’ve never been to a dance party so big! and we’re all cooking at home which I think is great!

How has Coronavirus impacted your life/work?

I'm trying to start my day with some yoga, walk in the middle of the day, maybe some push UPS here and there in between meetings too, and ending the day with movement. I'm trying to start my day with some yoga, walk in the middle of the day, maybe some push UPS here and there in between meetings too.

What productivity tips have you found useful whilst working from home?

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema ChodronThe Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-Will-Listen/dp/1451663889" target="_self">How to Talk so Kids Will Listen &amp; Listen So Kids Will Talk </a>by Adele Faber and Elaine MazlishHis Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman.Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat and Wendy MacNaughton

What five books would you recommend during this time at home?

This is going to be an opportunity for a total reset in all areas of life. We can’t wait years for approval when people need medical help now. I also think that we will find more meaning in human connection and touch. I can’t wait for more warm embraces.

When this is all over, what will the opportunities look like?

This is the second in a series looking at how founders and innovators work from home during the global pandemic of Coranavirus. In this interview, I changed focus from London to Oakland, California…

productivity

Productivity

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

startup

Startups

Hugs Will Never Be the Same

The intention was to position Uberflip as the leader in something called “content experience delivery,” but that wasn’t working. Instead we confused people. Prospects were like, ‘ I have no idea what you’re talking about,’” Mike explained. He also explained that the company was trying to create a category.

“BEFORE” VERSION

According to Mike, Uberflip’s leadership team began late last year to question how they told their story. In particular,

“AFTER” VERSION: The 5 Elements of a Great Sales Narrative

The after deck asks questions about how prospects drive audiences to their content. The deck names the undeniable shift in the world that creates big stakes and huge urgency for prospects. When you start with a change (rather than a “problem ”), you build trust with prospects. The deck also explains how failed content distributors like Blockbuster placed the burden of finding relevant content on customers, forcing them to search for relevant items among a veritable warehouse of choices.

1.  Name a Big, Relevant Change in the World

All prospects tend to avoid a possible loss by sticking to the status quo, authors say. They say the change will create winners (who adapt) and losers (who don’t) this deck has already accomplished that to some degree, since Netflix is thriving.

2. Show There Will Be Winners and Losers

The before deck failed to articulate the happy future that Uberflip is committed to making real for its customers. The after deck lays out the “promised land” in just seven words. A future in which marketers actively engage with varied, relevant content.

3. Tease the Promised Land

Uberflip ’ s after deck positioning capabilities as “magic gifts” for helping prospects overcome obstacles to the promised land. If you’ve clearly stated your promised land and the obstacles to it, prospects have the x`context they need to understand why your capabilities matter.

4. Introduce Features as “Magic Gifts” for Overcoming Obstacles to the Promised Land

A well-designed promised land is desirable (obviously) and difficult to achieve without your Product/Service. Your audience will be skeptical that you can deliver. The before deck attempted to establish credibility by showing investors and customer logos right off the bat.

#5. Offer Evidence that You Can Make the Story Come True

Andy Raskin helps Ceos and leadership teams align around a strategic story — to power sales, marketing, fundraising, product, and recruiting. Clients include teams backed by Andreessen Horowitz, first round, GV, and other top venture firms. He's also led strategic story training at Uber, yelp, General Assembly, Vmware, and Stanford.

A Clear Strategic Story Aligns Everyone in Your Company—and Creates Urgency

In the Greatest Sales Deck post, I advised never kicking off a sales presentation by talking about your product, your headquarters locations, your investors, your clients, or anything about yourself.In addition to violating that rule, Uberflip’s BEFORE deck labeled the prospect’s approach “flawed.” No surprise that, according to Mike, that put prospects on the defensive.

Kicking Off The Right Foot

Mike later told me that, in the two quarters since introducing a sales narrative based on that post, Uberflip has met or exceeded revenue targets, which was not happening before. I asked Mike if I…

The Making of a Great Strategic Narrative

I bet you’ve muttered or heard at least one of these suggestions from someone else in your office: <ul><li>“We’ve never had anyone in business development, so there must be a ton of low-hanging fruit she can go after with just a little bit of effort.” </li><li>“We’ve never done any social media outreach, so imagine how much new traffic” — low-hanging fruit — “we’ll get if we just start tweeting stuff out.” </li><li>There's plenty of Low-Hanging fruit if we do those interviews.</li></ul>

Be careful when you use the word “easy” to describe other people’s jobs.

By definition, pursuing Low-Hanging fruit should be a No-Brainer for any business. But we assume that picking it will be easy only because we’ve never tried to do it before. The idea that you’ll instantly move needles because you’ve never tried to move them until now is, well, Delusional. If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t try to do it yourself.&nbsp;

By definition, pursuing low-hanging fruit should be a no-brainer for any business. An easy opportunity simply waiting to be seized. Little sweat, all reward!

Low-Hanging Fruit

Low-hanging fruit is a myth.Respect the work that you’ve never done before. Remind yourself that other people’s jobs aren’t so simple. Results rarely come without effort. If momentum and experience is on your side, what is hard can masquerade as easy, but never forget that not having done something before doesn’t make it easy. It usually makes it hard.

No Pain No Gain

I’ll confess I’m definitely guilty of having thought in these terms. Why wouldn’t I? By definition, pursuing low-hanging fruit should be a no-brainer for any business. An easy opportunity simply…

The myth of low-hanging fruit

<ul><li>A professional seller account costs $39.99 per month. An individual seller account charges $0.99/Sale.</li><li>Download the Amazon Seller app, which is separate from the regular Amazon app. </li><li>Use the Amazon Seller app to scan barcodes and identify sales rank and current prices of books on Amazon. </li><li>You can take pictures of the books and Upload them through the App. Describe the condition and set the price.</li></ul>

From Amazon customer to Amazon seller

The fulfilled by Amazon program allows you to ship all your books to an Amazon fulfilment centre. It takes roughly 1–2 weeks for Amazon to receive the packages and make the inventory available for purchase on the site. If you are sending the package across the country, the price will be higher than shipping to a closer destination. If you are sending the package across the country, the price will be higher than shipping to a closer destination.

The good and bad of Fulfilled By Amazon

A high-volume, professional seller can afford to list a lower price because he fulfills his inventory instead of using Fba. By some miracle, I did sell this book for $8.99 and made a whopping $0.14. There is a monthly inventory storage fee, which is seasonal and has fluctuated between $1.17 and $0.41 per month. The monthly inventory storage fee is seasonal and fluctuates between $1.17 and $0.41 per month.

Pricing is a race to the bottom

Brandon ’ s book sales totaled 25 books. If I sell every book at the current price, I will make a total of $25.38 less inventory storage fees assessed every month until the books are sold. For all the work and hassle with no guarantee of selling every book, a profit of around $30 is just not worth it.

My results

<ul><li>I am sure individual sellers are making money on Amazon, but they are doing it with high-margin products or high volume or a combination of both. The category of books is a tough road for individual sellers.</li><li>I am happy to remain an Amazon customer, but I do not wish to pursue any additional selling at this time.</li><li>I do not want to discourage anyone from becoming a seller on Amazon and creating a business for yourself. If you have a passion for this type of business and are willing to put in the time and effort, you can be successful.</li></ul>

What I learned

One day in November of 2017 I decided to reorganize my office. I discovered that I had way too many books for my available bookshelf space. I considered donating the books, but I decided to research…

After 6 months of selling books on Amazon, this is how much I made.

Where many salespeople fail is listening to the response of their question. If you’re too focused on what you’re going to ask next, you aren’t having a conversation, you’re running through a checklist.Customers don’t care about features! They care about figuring out if you can actually help. Decisions are made emotionally first and then justified rationally. Don’t give them the solution before you fully understand their problem.

Questions are fundamental to the selling process

<ul><li>Preparation. Do research on the person you’ll be speaking with.</li><li>Strong opener to set the tone: The best start to a sales call accomplishes three things: sets the expectations of what will be accomplished and the time allotted to meet.</li><li>Confirm the Agenda, Ask about their Goals. This helps the customer realize this is going to be a 2-way conversation, and help the customer feel like they’re in control.</li><li>Diagnose before Prescribing: SPIC: Ask them questions to understand their Situation first — then lead into questions that help clarify their Pain, and desired Impact.</li><li>Prescription and Wrap.</li></ul>

The Perfect Discovery Call

Share a relevant use-case or customer story that pertains to the situation and pain you just summarized.The key is making sure your use case is relevant, and matches to a pain they are currently facing that you just identified. Know customer stories that you can share through a story.

3rd Party Reference

Where many salespeople fail is listening to the response of their question. If you’re too focused on what you’re going to ask next, you aren’t having a conversation, you’re running through a…

The Anatomy of a Perfect Discovery Call

An abbreviation is a way to shorten a phrase. Many common abbreviations tend to shorten the word being referenced by literally shortening the word but not creating a new one. Here are some abbreviation examples:<ul><li>Ave., which is an abbreviation for “avenue”</li><li>Dec., which is an abbreviation for “December”</li><li>Etc., which is an abbreviation for “et cetera”</li><li>Photo, which is an abbreviation for “photograph”</li><li>Exam, which is an abbreviation for “examination”</li></ul>

Abbreviation

An acronym is a type of abbreviation that shortens a phrase by combining the first letter (or letters) of each word in the phrase to form a new pronounceable word. Here are some acronym examples:<ul><li>NASA, which stands for National Aeronautical and Space Administration. To form the acronym NASA, you take the first letter of each of the words in the phrase “National Aeronautical and Space Administration” and then pronounce the collection of letters as a new word—we pronounce the term as “nah-suh” and not the individual letters “N-A-S-A.”</li><li>FOMO, which stands for “fear of missing out”</li><li>LASER, which stands for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”</li><li>RADAR, which stands for Radio Detection And Ranging</li></ul>

Acronym

<h3>An initialism is another type of abbreviation similar to an acronym—but not exactly the same. Initialisms also use the first letter of each word in the phrase, but instead of combining the letters to form a new word, like with “NASA,” you pronounce each letter individually. Here are some examples:</h3><ul><li>VIP, which stands for “very important person”</li><li>DVD, which stands for “digital versatile disc”</li><li>ATM, which stands for “automatic teller machine”</li><li><a href="https://www.rd.com/article/what-does-am-and-pm-stand-for/">AM and PM</a>, which stand for “ante meridiem” and “post meridiem”</li><li><a href="https://www.rd.com/article/what-does-rsvp-stand-for/">RSVP</a>, which stands for “répondez s’il vous plait“</li></ul>

Initialism

Technically, acronyms and initialisms are types of abbreviations. Not all abbreviations, though, are acronyms or initialisms—those terms refer to specific types of abbreviations formed from taking the first letters of words in a longer phrase or name. The real confusion comes when determining which of those types of abbreviations are acronyms and which are initialisms. Since initialisms are similar to acronyms, many people say that “acronym” can be a blanket term that also covers initialisms, as yourdictionary.com points out. A lot of people do use the word “acronym” to refer to an initialism that technically is not an acronym because it’s not pronounced as a word.

Types of Abbreviations

What's the difference when discussing acronym vs. abbreviation vs. initialism? It has to do with how you're shortening a word or phrase.

What is the summer solstice? Here’s what you need to know.

How the internet changed our language

How to win a presentation in front of your top executive

How to Create Sales Sequences Your Reps Will Actually Use - Sales Hacker

Hugs Will Never Be the Same

Curtis Lopez