Podcasts about tdm

This week on That Entrepreneur Show, we're thrilled to welcome a true force in the business world, Donald Thompson. With over 25 years of experience, Donald is an award-winning entrepreneur, a sought-after executive coach, and a trailblazer in strategic leadership and cultural transformation. He's here to share the secrets behind his rapid revenue growth and the cultivation of high-performing teams.In this powerful episode, Donald unveils his playbook for lifelong success, tackling critical topics like:Becoming a powerhouse C-Suite executive and his journey to CEO of TDM.The art of cultivating healthy workplace culture and fostering effective employee engagement.His insights into inclusive leadership and why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are crucial, not just personally, but for business success.How to promote psychological and physical safety for organizational success, and what he's most proud of as a leader.Navigating DEI backlash and noise, and what to say to someone who wants to do the right thing but isn't sure how.Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned executive, Donald's wealth of knowledge and real-world strategies will equip you to build a thriving business and lead with unparalleled impact. Don't miss this masterclass in modern leadership! He also dives into these areas and more:Link goals to emotional triggersLeverage your own superpowerHow  to cultivate a true relationshipNot vanity metrics - a real network Leveraging free offers from leaders Empathy v economicsSupport the showWant the freebie from our guest? Question for our guest or Vincent? Want to become a guest or show partner? Email Danica at PodcastsByLanci@gmail.com.Show Partners:Coming Alive Podcast Production: www.comingalivepodcastproduction.comJohn Ford's Empathy Card Set and App: https://www.empathyset.com/ Music Credits: Copyright Free Music from Adventure by MusicbyAden.

Avoid routine or reflexive therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) unless there is a specific clinical indication Be vigilant about enzyme induction and inhibition interactions when prescribing anti-seizure medications Proactively counsel women of childbearing age about the teratogenic risks associated with anti-seizure medications Discuss reproductive risks with men taking valproate, especially if planning to conceive Refer patients of reproductive age to epilepsy specialists early to optimise treatment and family planning Host: Dr David Lim | Total Time: 48 mins Expert: Dr Moksh Sethi, Neurologist Register for our fortnightly FREE WEBCASTSEvery second Tuesday | 7:00pm-9:00pm AEST Click here to register for the next oneSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Eye of the Storm | The Off-Script Decks of TDM Welcome to Lords of Limited, the podcast dedicated to getting you better at drafting in Magic: the Gathering. This week, we're looking at how to get the MOST out of your Tarkir Dragonstorm drafts. When Boros or Temur are open, it's smooth sailing ahead, but what happens when you're at a table where the best decks are contested? We're here today to go deep on the keys to success when Plan A (or even Plan B) just isn't a viable option!

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - ICA (Intelligent Communication Assistant), a communications security and AI assistant platform, took center stage at the Cloud Communications Alliance's Cloud Connections 2025 event with a solution aimed at eliminating robocalls, scams, and fragmented branded calling experiences. Michael Gough, founder of ICA, presented during the event's inaugural product showcase and outlined how the platform leverages artificial intelligence to identify unwanted or fraudulent communications in real time. “There are more than 40 billion robocalls, 20 billion scam texts and a trillion phishing attempts annually,” said Gough. “We're at an inflection point. ICA brings together voice, text, email and branded calling into one AI-powered framework.” Gough explained that ICA works similarly to navigation apps like Waze, learning from user behavior across a distributed network. When a robocaller or scammer contacts one ICA user, the behavior is analyzed and logged so that future calls from the same entity can be blocked systemwide. Unlike existing solutions such as STIR/SHAKEN, which Gough noted cannot cover all traffic types or legacy systems like TDM, ICA uses behavioral fingerprinting and network metadata to make real-time determinations about the legitimacy of a call or message. For calls from known and trusted sources such as a school or hospital, ICA allows communication to pass through without interruption. Beyond fraud detection, ICA also serves as a digital assistant, with features such as calendar-aware call handling, automated appointment scheduling, and adaptive call routing based on user preferences. Gough said ICA is currently available via licensing partnerships and is seeking additional partners, such as service providers, CPaaS platforms, and branded calling vendors. “We're here to complement and enhance the systems they already have in place,” he said. The company's website, myica.ai, provides more details about its offerings and partner opportunities.

Check out the twitch channel: http://twitch.tv/magicmics Visit our subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/magicmics Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/magicmicscast Like us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/magicmics Co-Sponsors: https://www.manatraders.com/ (use code MAGICMICS_54P)   First Pick (Basically: Tarkir is killing it)   Tarkir on Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/mtg-magic-the-gathering/556404/tarkir-dragonstorm-callback-set-rosewater-interview   TDM Demand “Exceptionally High”: https://magicuntapped.com/index.php/news/demand-for-tarkir-dragonstorm-exceptionally-high-says-wotc   TDM's Balanced Limited: https://bsky.app/profile/sierkovitz.bsky.social/post/3lmrqdovl5s2l   Gather the Townsfolk   Celebs at PAX East for FF Debut Showcase Roundup Kenny Omega: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410942703623208960/1361990375497142393/hkUtVN9.jpeg?ex=6800c3e2&is=67ff7262&hm=9714d021fe0705102d214359c3f08ff874a70413c2615a4d40523554c10cc639& https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410942703623208960/1361990375807516752/Screenshot_2025-04-16_at_09.59.51.png?ex=6800c3e2&is=67ff7262&hm=02975534042839fb8699078b03bb7e144b32a84f9df7e18c57e0a8edf865ba27& Ben Starr: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410942703623208960/1362110689782796359/image-224.png?ex=680133ef&is=67ffe26f&hm=ffa13fe6c2c6d7c7e8c8d0068aec8ba38c5c16d1c9b81e3e254b9c20b365f443&   Desert Bus Express: https://bsky.app/profile/desertbus.org/post/3lmsksmrub22l   Trans Lifeline Charity Tournament: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410942703623208960/1360424759904440381/image.png?ex=6801008a&is=67ffaf0a&hm=b6ad111799e4675bfdc610e046d80f8afb2a99f18412f6d32c21539ef4a578e9&   Spotlight: Final Fantasy: https://bsky.app/profile/playmagic.com/post/3lmrtbafbrb2i   Desperate Ravings   Ultra Pro and BCW Tariff Surcharge: https://bsky.app/profile/missourimtg.bsky.social/post/3lmum2kpcec2e https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410942703623208960/1361821923633266778/IMG_0016.jpg?ex=6800cfc0&is=67ff7e40&hm=72b6db5ee59b033bcc7708106e015abb1461dfe9846f963efeb608805af8eb03&   Arena Direct Prize Trouble: https://x.com/VoxyTwitch/status/1912214235188191665?t=tXFSSdg4UTpPq_dEMUJe6w&s=19   Hasbro Stocks Plunge, HQ Move Decision Delayed: https://www.ripbs.org/news-and-culture/as-hasbro-stocks-plunge-decision-on-potential-hq-move-pushed-back-to-summer   Splash Damage   Blue Prince: https://bsky.app/profile/rebell.bsky.social/post/3lmkd4kvxi22m https://mythicspoiler.com/blue_prince.html https://www.metacritic.com/game/blue-prince/ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410942703623208960/1360296135817953511/image.png?ex=6801317f&is=67ffdfff&hm=f9633e257b211a070d83c77d25a7975f66dc557e44892ebaf98c325c8c35c658& The Finisher   Tariff this, and tariff that. When is somebody gonna tear-off a punch line for the Finisher?

This week we dive into the new set - what is the big picture data? What are the key cards in each color, how to approach the early data and wht makes the 3C combinations tick. Also - how to pick fixing in TDM. Ping me for coaching. Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, sign up for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and use this ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for everything else! Watch this episode and see the slides: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Episode #151 vid⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This podcast is sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mtgazone.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - get your reading fix from the best and brightest Magic writers in the business.You can get the BulkBox if you are in the UK. Remember to use SIERKO10 code for a 10% discount!If you are outside of UK, you can find your local distributor on the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BulkBox website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

“This isn't just tech—it's protection for your mother, your daughter, your entire community. And no one else is doing it like this.” — Michael Gough, Intelligent Communication Assistant (ICA) Imagine a world where every ring, ping, or notification is trusted—and no one wastes time dodging robocalls or deleting spam. That's the world ICA (pronounced “Ikah”) is building. In a recent Technology Reseller News podcast, Michael Gough, Sales and Marketing Leader at ICA, previewed the company's upcoming live demo at the Cloud Communications Alliance's Cloud Connections Conference, taking place April 14–16 in St. Petersburg. ICA will demonstrate what Gough calls the first true AI platform in telecommunications—a system designed to make digital deception impossible, without violating privacy laws, introducing new FCC rules, or requiring user intervention. “ICA restores an era when users could communicate without interruption from unwanted calls, texts, emails, or videos,” said Gough. At its core, ICA isn't just another call filter or branded caller ID feature. It's a patented behavioral AI engine that uses graph neural networks to assess communication attempts across voice, SMS, email, and social media. It then blocks, redirects, or engages the sender—sometimes with a convincing digital assistant that wastes scammer time and discourages future attempts. In a live demo, Gough showed how ICA rerouted a scammer to an intelligent voice assistant that feigned interest, dragging the call out until it became financially unviable for the spammer to continue. Another demo illustrated ICA's intelligence in recognizing legitimate contacts—even scanning social graphs to validate the relationship between caller and recipient, proving its capability in real-time communication vetting. The need is massive: 29% of U.S. cellular calls in Q4 2024 were spam. Over 4.7 million robocalls were placed in January 2025 alone. In February 2025, Americans received 19.2 billion spam texts. Every day, there are 3.4 billion phishing emails and 160 billion spam emails—46% of all email traffic. While STIR/SHAKEN and branded calling offer some protection, they are limited. Branded calling works only on select mobile devices and is vulnerable to impersonation. STIR/SHAKEN doesn't always function when calls cross from TDM to IP networks. And neither applies to email, SMS, or social media. “Branded calling works on mobile, and STIR/SHAKEN only works part of the time. ICA enhances both—and works across all platforms,” explained Gough. Unlike point solutions, ICA is designed to sit across communication ecosystems. It integrates with carrier and platform infrastructure through APIs, simplifying global deployments. Built on open standards from the Camara project and supported by the ADURA API aggregation framework, ICA offers a single integration point for global reach. Whether deployed as a platform-as-a-service or software-as-a-service, ICA provides a crawl-walk-run path that helps carriers begin protecting their networks immediately. For a limited number of partners participating at Cloud Connections, ICA is offering full implementation at no cost. “We're offering a handful of select platforms a chance to deploy ICA free of charge—and we'll even help with implementation,” said Gough. What sets ICA apart is not just detection, but disruption. By making scams financially pointless—tying up scammer resources and blocking unwanted traffic before it hits users—ICA dismantles the economic model that makes robocalling, smishing, and phishing profitable. “With ICA, we're not just enhancing telecom security,” said Gough. “We're creating a future where communication is smarter, safer, and free from disruption.” To see ICA in action, catch their live demo on April 15 at the Cloud Connections Conference in St. Petersburg. Visit myica.ai to learn more. #AI #TelecomSecurity #RobocallPrevention #SpamBlocking #CommunicationTrust...

My guest today is Silvija Martincevic, the Croatian born, San Francisco based CEO of Australian founded Unicorn Deputy.Silvija's executive career has been immense in the world of fast-growing technology, as the COO of Group On, and then the chief commercial officer of Affirm, that scaled annual revenue through the billion-dollar ceiling and beyond IPO. Silvija grew up in Croatia and while she didn't learn English until she was 18, she's an incredibly lucid storyteller. We traversed some key scaling challenges from moving Deputy from a point solution to a full workforce management platform trying to move from the fickle SMB market towards solving larger and more complex problems for mid-market customers. All of this is wrapped up in a big global push to continue the growth trajectory that now has reported revenue well over a hundred million dollars a year. While Sylvia is known in the industry as an incredible executor, as an operator, it's her leadership skills that have been front and center in Deputy's post Covid transformation, despite not being the founder, her ownership mentality is the cornerstone of her values-based leadership principles, which come clearly through as accountability, trust, and empathy. Her insights into scaling culture as a non-founding CEO were a real highlight of the conversation. As always, please reach out if you have any feedback or comments, and for more insights on a whole range of topics the new TDM website is a great resource for investors and operators alike.

Dragonstorm's a-Comin' | Returning to a Beloved Three-Color Set Welcome to Lords of Limited, the podcast dedicated to getting you better at drafting in Magic: the Gathering. This week, we're looking ahead as Tarkir Dragonstorm is on the horizon with lots of previews. We go over the new mechanics and then dive in to some early takes and assessments of cards and archetypes as we wait for the entire spoiler to drop!

O Museu Mafalala, em Maputo, tem patente, desde 20 de Fevereiro e até 16 de Março, e exposição  "As Paredes Também Falam", uma mostra individual do artista Vasco Manhiça, com curadoria de Ivan Laranjeira. O artista inspira-se na cidade, nos bairros e nas “histórias” contadas pelas paredes que são, para ele, testemunhas das lutas e das aspirações dos moradores. Vasco Manhiça pinta a cidade, os seus bairros e as suas gentes, através de formas abstractas e densas, cores fortes, palavras e símbolos que vão atravessando as suas telas. Ao longo dos becos ou das avenidas, ele deixa-se levar pelas histórias que contam as paredes, que encara como camadas de memória traçadas pelo tempo e que são testemunhas de lutas e aspirações dos seus habitantes.Agora, é nas paredes do Museu Mafalala que as pinturas de Vasco Manhiça falam e nos convidam a olhar atentamente para as histórias que contam. Vasco Manhiça falou-nos um pouco sobre essas histórias e as inspirações. Tudo começa com a cidade de Maputo e a sua periferia, repletas de “paredes de edifícios antigos” que o foram inspirando por serem os depositários de “camadas da história”.As paredes é que contam as histórias. As camadas contam as histórias através das vozes das pessoas que viveram essas fases históricas. Por exemplo, um cartaz colado em 1994, nas primeiras eleições, esse cartaz conta uma história e apresenta-se desgastado. É como a pele. Tenho uma obra, por exemplo, que se chama “Tatuagem sobre Rugas”. Normalmente, a tatuagem é feita numa pele jovem e lisa, mas com o tempo vai envelhecendo, vivenciando histórias e contando histórias. As paredes também têm essa capacidade. É só nós olharmos atentamente.A partir dessas paredes curtidas pelo tempo, Vasco Manhiça pinta “camadas de tinta que, metaforicamente, são as camadas da história e da identidade”. Estes são temas que têm percorrido a sua obra, que é um espaço onde também se questionam as desigualdades sociais, os apagamentos históricos, as buscas de identidade e memória. Vasco Manhiça reconhece que o seu trabalho “sempre teve essa vertente de activismo social e mais politizada porque não há como fugir disso” quando o dia a dia é feito de resiliência. "As Paredes Também Falam" é a exposição que reabre o Museu Mafalala, depois de vários meses fechado durante os protestos pós-eleitorais, em que mais de 300 pessoas morreram em manifestações reprimidas pelas autoridades.  Nascido em Nampula, no norte de Moçambique, em 1978, e criado no Bairro do Aeroporto, nos subúrbios de Maputo, Vasco Manhiça formou-se em Design Gráfico pela Escola Nacional de Artes Visuais, em Maputo, onde também deu aulas, e também concluiu o curso de Design de Comunicação no ca.Medien College, em Essen, na Alemanha. A sua formação foi sendo complementada com viagens pela África, com destaque para o Senegal, Nigéria, RDC e África do Sul, mas também pela Europa, como Portugal, Alemanha, França, Espanha, Holanda e Suíça. As suas influências vão dos moçambicanos Bento Mukeswane, Malangatana, Alberto Chissano, Gemuce, Tomo, Miro, ao angolano Yonamine Miguel e ao sul-africano Ayanda Mabulu, entre muitos outros.Vasco Manhiça obteve o primeiro prémio na Expo-MUSART (2016) e na Biennale TDM (1999). O seu trabalho está representado na colecção do Museu Nacional de Arte em Moçambique, do Museu das Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM) e em várias colecções privadas e públicas em Moçambique e vários outros países.No catálogo de "As Paredes Também Falam" pode ler-se: “Com uma abordagem que combina rigor técnico e engajamento social, Manhiça permanece como uma das vozes centrais na redefinição da arte moçambicana contemporânea.”"As Paredes Também Falam", a exposição individual de Vasco Manhiça no Museu Mafalala, em Maputo, está patente até 16 de Março.

In this episode of Diritto al Digitale, Giulio Coraggio, technology and data lawyer at DLA Piper, explores the European Commission's new AI data disclosure template under the EU AI Act and the potential legal battles it may ignite. This new regulation requires AI model providers to disclose details about the datasets used for training, aiming to enhance transparency but also raising significant concerns around copyright infringement, trade secrets, and legal liability for AI users.

Antifungal therapeutic drug monitoring is a critical component of individualized, precision treatment for fungal infections and for antifungal stewardship. Antifungal therapeutic drug monitoring can help improve outcomes through minimizing toxicity associated with supratherapeutic drug levels and prevent treatment failure from subtherapeutic levels. Also, in vitro studies have shown that suboptimal drug levels can lead to antifungal resistance, supporting therapeutic drug monitoring's potential role in preventing the emergence of antifungal-resistant organisms. This episode podcast, we discuss outcome data when antifungal TDM is used, role of antifungal TDM with isavuconazole and echinocandins, TDM in outpatient settings, and other controversies. We will also highlight the recent antifungal TDM insights published by SIDP.   The information presented during the podcast reflects solely the opinions of the presenter. The information and materials are not, and are not intended as, a comprehensive source of drug information on this topic. The contents of the podcast have not been reviewed by ASHP, and should neither be interpreted as the official policies of ASHP, nor an endorsement of any product(s), nor should they be considered as a substitute for the professional judgment of the pharmacist or physician.

Listen in to Matt's recent appearance on The Dental Marketer podcast with our friend Michael Arias, and be sure to subscribe to TDM here on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dental-marketer/id1153836877 --- How can you thrive in the dental industry without it consuming your life and identity? In this episode, Dr. Matt Vogt returns to the podcast, sharing his incredible journey from a budding dentist to a successful coach with The Lifestyle Practice (TLP). We dive into Matt's experiences, exploring the evolution of his startup practice into a flourishing establishment with multiple staff members and a thriving culture. Matt candidly discusses the importance of hiring the right people, fostering a positive work atmosphere, and evolving as a leader to build a self-sustaining team. Matt also opens up about the challenges that come with practice ownership, including dealing with burnout and maintaining a positive mindset. He reveals how shifting his mindset played a crucial role in managing these hurdles, and emphasizes the significance of focusing on what can be controlled. Matt also touches on the insights and support provided by TLP, explaining how their coaching focuses on business systems, leadership, and mindset to ensure sustainable growth. Whether you're in the beginning of your startup journey or a multi-practice owner, this episode offers a wealth of advice and inspiration. What You'll Learn in This Episode: -How Dr. Matt Vogt built a thriving dental practice from scratch. -The key to creating a strong, positive work culture in your practice. -The impact of hiring the right people and fostering long-term employee loyalty. -Practical advice on decisive business decision-making. -Strategies to prevent burnout and maintain a positive mindset in practice ownership. -How to integrate dentistry into life without letting it consume your identity. -The role and benefits of The Lifestyle Practice (TLP) coaching in achieving personal and professional growth. Connect with us: • Learn more about 1-on-1 coaching • Get access to TLP Academy • Suscribe to The Lifestyle Practice Podcast • Email Derek at derek@thelifestylepractice.com • Email Matt at matt@thelifestylepractice.com • Email Steve at steve@thelifestylepractice.com

La Cultura SER en TDM  – Juan David GaviriaCada empresa tiene su cultura. Esta corresponde a una serie de rasgos únicos de sus colaboradores, de sus procesos, de la manera de hacer las cosas. En este episodio presentamos la Cultura SER de una empresa envidiable: TDM. Entrevista con su Gerente General, Juan David Gaviria.La Cultura SER en TDM (en medio del escepticismo)Tengo un amigo en Facebook de clara tendencia de izquierda, un tipo claramente anti-empresa. Eso no es un pecado. Total, lo aprecio y a veces postea temas mas interesantes y divertidos.Pero a veces las personas tan sectarias me molestan lo nubladas que son para argumentar, para irse en contra de todo lo que no están de acuerdo como si fuero un dogma. Recientemente publicó un post advirtiendo: “que no se te olvidé nunca.” El post era la foto de un grafiti en la pared con la leyenda: “a tu jefe no le importas”.Me provocó responderle, contradecirlo, molestarlo, pero casi siempre pienso que hacerlo es perder el tiempo en una posible discusión donde no escuchará mis argumentos.Pero si lo hubiera hecho, quizás hubiera respondido: “si tu supieras, si conocieras a TDM”.El post de mi amigo hace parte de una creciente campaña por atacar el mundo empresarial, por desprestigiar lo que hacen. Claro, debe haber empresarios poco éticos, manipuladores, tacaños y sin corazón. Pero no es la norma.  Es como uno dijera que cualquiera que sea de izquierda es poco ético, manipulador, tacaño y sin corazón. Ese es el problema de las afirmaciones absolutas. Entonces debemos puntualizar y tomar cada caso con pinzas, como lo hacemos hoy con este cliente del que me siento orgulloso de ser su proveedor: TDM.TDM: conectando propósitos y logística sostenibleTDM es una empresa especializada en transporte y logística que se dedica a conectar a las personas y organizaciones con sus objetivos. Su propósito está centrado en sus colaboradores sin perder el foco en los objetivos de sus clientes, trabajando de la mano para hacerlos posibles y lograr un impacto positivo en sus operaciones.Historia y filosofíaDesde su fundación, TDM ha tenido claro que su motor son las personas. La empresa busca ser un aliado estratégico en la gestión de la cadena de suministro, garantizando que sus clientes puedan cumplir con sus metas a través de un servicio eficiente y personalizado. TDM entiende que cada cliente es único, lo que le permite ofrecer soluciones logísticas adaptadas a las necesidades específicas de cada industria.ServiciosTDM ofrece una gama completa de servicios logísticos que incluyen:- Logística Integral: Gestión de la cadena de suministro, integrando procesos de distribución física de mercancías y operaciones bajo techo.   - Logística Especializada: Soluciones de transporte y almacenamiento basadas en un profundo conocimiento de las industrias de sus clientes.   - Logística Inteligente: Equipos multidisciplinarios altamente capacitados que utilizan su conocimiento para ofrecer un servicio superior.Cada uno de estos servicios está diseñado para garantizar la eficiencia operativa y la satisfacción del cliente, convirtiendo los desafíos logísticos en oportunidades de crecimiento.Compromiso con la sostenibilidadTDM va más allá de la mera prestación de servicios logísticos. La sostenibilidad es un pilar fundamental de su operación. La empresa ha desarrollado un programa de sostenibilidad que busca reducir el impacto ambiental de sus actividades diarias. Este programa incluye prácticas para el uso eficiente de recursos, la gestión responsable de desechos y un fuerte compromiso con el bienestar social.La compañía involucra a todos sus colaboradores en la implementación de políticas ambientales, asegurando que cada acción tenga un impacto positivo en la comunidad y el medio ambiente. Su enfoque en la logística sostenible demuestra que TDM no solo se preocupa por sus resultados, sino también por el futuro del planeta.Seguridad y gestión de riesgosLa seguridad es otra prioridad para TDM. La empresa ha establecido procesos diseñados para minimizar riesgos en la cadena de suministro. Esto incluye la administración de la seguridad en las instalaciones, planes de contingencia y emergencia, y un Plan Estratégico de Seguridad Vial. TDM se compromete a proteger la vida de sus colaboradores y garantizar la seguridad de las comunidades afectadas por su operación, además de cuidar la carga y los recursos utilizados.Hablamos con su gerente general Juan David GaviriaEn esta conversación, el gerente general de TDM Juan David Gaviria nos hablará sobre -    El elemento consciencia-    El bienestar integral de las personas-    Por qué centrarse en la gente es la mayor inversión-    Cómo descubrió la Cultura SER de la empresa y la definición equivocada que tenía-    El tipo de personas que buscan en la organización-    Su plan de formación de caballeros y damas en la vía-    Cómo ayuda TDM a crecer a todos sus colaboradores-    Prácticas diarias de bienestar que aparentemente no tienen nada que ver con el desempeño de un negocioCultura SER TDM, TDM, Propósito, Logística, Juan David Gaviria, Comunicación Organizacional, Cultura Organizacional, podcast, Podcast Corporativo, Comunicación Organizacional, Recursos Humanos, Desarrollo Profesional, Desarrollo Personal, Comunicación Efectiva, Santiago Ríos, Mil PalabrasRecuerda por favor escucharnos y suscribirte en la plataforma que más te guste:Apple Podcast Spotify Google Podcast SpreakerDeezerPara participar, escríbeme tus comentarios a santiagorios@milpalabras.com.coRecursos recomendados en este PodcastInstragram: https://www.instagram.com/somos_tdm/LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/somos-tdmFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TDMElRespetoNosMueveYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TDMTransportesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7c7ARfqGAMGCdKqraojyiqSitio Web: https://www.tdm.com.co/Suscríbete al Podcast de Mil Palabras enwww.milpalabras.comDescarga GRATIS el ebook “Cómo Crear un Podcast Corporativo”https://milpalabras.com.co/ Otros podcasts recomendados de nuestra redExperiencia Tech.Las voces de los líderes que hacen posible la evolución y la transformación digital. Casos de éxito, innovación, nuevos modelos de negocio y soluciones tecnológicas prácticas para crecer las empresas.https://open.spotify.com/show/77wLRAuRqZMuIiPcaBNHsJHistorias que NutrenConversaciones con profesionales que tienen algo para nutrir tu vida en lo personal, lo profesional, lo espiritual y lo físico.bit.ly/historiasquenutrenSomos CancionesEntrevistas e historias divertidas y personales con Gente que ama la música y sabe de música. (suenan canciones completas al lado de las historias).spoti.fi/3hWr020Logística que Trasciende Aquí encuentras las voces del sector logístico con las mejores prácticas e historias que han contribuido al crecimiento económico de industrias, negocios y naciones.https://bit.ly/logisticaquetrasciendeConviértete en un seguidor de este podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mil-palabras--4898895/support.

This week's EYE ON NPI is loud and proud - it's the Diodes Incorporated PAM8019E Class-D Audio Amplifier and Headphone Driver (https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/d/diodes/pam8019e-class-d-audio-amplifiers), a combo audio amplifier that will add high quality analog audio output to your next design without breaking the bank. We've stocked and used the PAM series of audio amplifiers for over a decade, one of our best sellers is the PAM8302 (https://www.adafruit.com/product/2130) breakout which is a monophonic class D amp for basic projects. Things we like about it: its very inexpensive, it's rock solid, 3~5V power, hard to 'pop' and can drive 4~8 ohm output. But it's only one channel and we often get asked if we can stock a stereo Class D. Also, it's pretty common for us to get requests for headphone drivers. The PAM8019E (https://www.digikey.com/short/b3r00dw5) can do both, and has a lot of nice little details. First up, this is an analog in/out amplifier - no PDM or I2S or TDM. So this is good for either all-analog setups or when you have already converted your digital audio to 'line level', about 1Vpp. Since it's stereo out, there's also stereo input: don't worry about DC bias because you can couple in with 1uF and it will internally bias to half-VDD. Unlike the PAM8302 (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/diodes-incorporated/PAM8302AASCR/4033281), this isn't differential input, reference is ground. You can use either the Headphone amp or Speaker amp, but not both: the selection is done with with a digital input pin which will do a smooth pop-free hand off. For the outputs, there's the stereo Class D outputs. These come as two tied-load bridges (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridged_and_paralleled_amplifiers#Bridged_amplifier) which means you can just tie the two sides of each speaker to positive/negative without any capacitors. Class D is an efficient amplification architecture (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-D_amplifier) and if done at a high enough frequency - in this case around 400KHz - the inductive load of the speaker acts as a filter so no separate RLC is required. For EMI purposes, the datasheet recommends a simple 100MHz 600ohm ferrite bead plus 1uF capacitor just to reduce the sharp square waves. For headphone, the chip uses a Class AB (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_amplifier_classes#Class_AB). These are going to give cleaner output because there's no intermediate PWM stage: speakers tend not to be good enough to notice the hiss added from Class D, but headphones are much more sensitive. Also, at the ~50mW output we're talking about, there's not a lot of benefit to optimizing power. Since headphones are by design 'single ended', you will need 220uF caps on the output for high-pass filtering. Some modern audio amps have a 'floating' ground generated to sink the current for cap-less output but these tend to be more expensive and also wouldn't be compatible with line-level inputs. Some nice details we like to see in an amp, especially one this affordable: spread-spectrum so the high frequency PWM isn't centered on one spike, undervoltage-lockout, short-circuit on all outputs, pop-free, non-clip power limiting and separate not-in-line audio level selection. The last one is particularly nice because on the PAM8302 we have to put an analog rheostat in-line with the input pins to reduce the gain from 15x down to 1x or 2x. This would require a stereo pot, which can get scratchy and fail over time. On the PAM8019E (https://www.digikey.com/short/b3r00dw5), the gain is set with a DC voltage which means you can set it with a potentiometer or a DAC output, and you don't have to worry about jitter or scratchiness because there's hysteresis over 64 points. We've already ordered 10 pieces of the Diodes Inc PAM8019E (https://www.digikey.com/short/b3r00dw5) to design a breakout. DigiKey has tons in stock so we recommend you buy some too, at 34 cents a-piece, at reel quantity, it's hard to say no! They're available in 3x3mm or 4x4mm package sizes, both are QFN-20. Order today and you can be bumpin' and boppin' with either speakers or headphones by tomorrow. afternoon.

September 27, 2024#JoinTheRevolutionThe Daily Mojo is 2 hours of news, commentary, comedy, and auditory deliciousness."Freedom Friday: Freaky Edition"Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the southeastern US - here's to all the TDM family staying safe! Did red-haired cannibal giants once live in the Nevada desert? Why do Flat Earthers think the Earth is flat? The EPA might finally look into the dangers of fluoride in our drinking water? Trump is suffering from mental decline, according to his detractors.Phil Bell - TDM's DC Correspondent  - Is LIVE once again to discuss the Eric Adams flogging and why American manufacturing has been suffering for so long!Our affiliate partners:We've partnered with The Wellness Company – a based, dedicated group of medical pros – including Dr. Peter McCullough – to bring you a single trustworthy source for your health.GetWellMojo.comPromo Code: Mojo50Dave and his crew were roasting historically great coffee before some of these newcomers even thought about creating a coffee brand. He's still the best, in our eyes!AmericanPrideRoasters.comNothing says “I appreciate you” like an engraved gift or award. Ron and Misty (mostly Misty) have the perfect solution for you if you need a gift idea for family or your employees!www.MoJoLaserPros.comWe love to support Mike Lindell and his company. He's a real patriot and an American success story!MojoMyPillow.com Promo code: Mojo50Be ready for anything from a hurricane to man-created stupidity (toilet paper shortage, anyone?). The tools and food storage you need to weather the storm.www.PrepareWithMojo50.com Stay Connected:WATCH The Daily Mojo LIVE 7-9a CT: www.TheDailyMojo.com (RECOMMEDED)Rumble: HEREFacebook: HEREMojo 5-0 TV: HEREFreedomsquare: HEREOr just LISTEN:Mojo50.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-daily-mojo-with-brad-staggs--3085897/support.

Al and Codey talk about Coral Island 1.1 Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:04:04: What Have We Been Up To 00:20:18: Game News 00:42:25: News Games 00:48:02: Coral Island 1.1 01:28:16: Outro Links Tales of the Shire Delay Tales of the Shire Hobbit Day Announcement Sugardew Island Delay To Pixelia Delay Go-go Town “Build and Bustle” Update Harvest Moon: Winds of Anthos “Great Outdoors” Update Len’s Island “Controllers and Steam Deck” Update Danchi Days on Steam Sea Sniffers on Steam Garden Trills on Steam Piczle Cross: Rune Factory on Steam Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers, and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:34) Al: My name is Al. (0:00:36) Codey: and my name is Cody. (0:00:37) Al: And we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore games. (0:00:41) Codey: Woo! (0:00:44) Codey: It sure has, I went to Costa Rica and back. (0:00:49) Codey: You guys almost lost me because I almost stepped (0:00:52) Codey: on the most venomous snake in Costa Rica. (0:00:55) Al: Oh no. Well, I mean, you know, a snake isn’t an insect. (0:01:01) Codey: It’s not, but it’s like in the very first day (0:01:04) Codey: They were like, this is the ultimate– (0:01:06) Codey: pit viper. If you get bit by one, you need to go to a hospital immediately, and you still might lose your limb. (0:01:13) Codey: And they had all these things. And then literally the next day I’m walking on a trail, and I– (0:01:18) Codey: I’m from Pennsylvania. We have– or I’m not from Pennsylvania, but I’m in Pennsylvania. (0:01:23) Codey: There’s lots of rattlesnakes here, so I’m used to it. You’re walking on a trail. You still look down. (0:01:27) Codey: You don’t look around you. You look down. And I almost set my foot down, and I was like, “Oh, that’s a snake.” (0:01:33) Codey: She was very well camouflaged. (0:01:36) Codey: It was Epen, she remained Epen, but I told people, I was like, “Hey, don’t go that way. There’s a Tertio Pelo or, gosh, what is the other, Fertilance?” (0:01:44) Codey: And people, of course, were like, “Oh, I wanna see it!” (0:01:48) Codey: And then I came over, so then I stood there and was basically like a bouncer for this snake. (0:01:56) Al: I - this is why I don’t travel very much. I just don’t - we just - like Scotland, pretty (0:02:05) Codey: Ah. (0:02:06) Al: safe place. We don’t really - technically we have one venomous snake, but it’s like (0:02:13) Al: the sort of venomous that you’re gonna have an itchy leg for a while, like that’s about (0:02:18) Codey: Yeah. Yeah, I know this one. This one’s not good. And we were pretty far away from a hospital. (0:02:18) Al: it. Yeah, no, I’m all right. In fact, like I - (0:02:25) Codey: It was fun, though. (0:02:26) Al: I think I’ve only ever seen a snake in the wild like once ever because they’re just - like (0:02:32) Al: they exist here, but they don’t really exist. So anyway, I’m glad you’re not dead. (0:02:37) Codey: Yeah, so I’m back. If anyone if anyone has any questions about Costa Rica, let me know in the slack. (0:02:45) Codey: Gotta be a member of the Slack, gotta be a Patreon subscriber. (0:02:48) Codey: Patreon.com/GHSpod. (0:02:50) Codey: But we’re not here to talk about that. What are we here to talk about today, y’all? (0:02:52) Al: This episode we are kind of going to talk about the Coral Island 1.1 update (0:03:00) Codey: Kind of. (0:03:01) Al: They’ll understand why soon (0:03:04) Al: There’s a whole thing (0:03:06) Al: We’re gonna talk about that before that we have some game news a decent chunk of game news (0:03:11) Al: We’ve gotten it’s gotten busy again, and it’s not all game delays (0:03:16) Al: But we have hit that period and we have had that time in the year where there’s lots of games getting delayed till next year (0:03:18) Codey: It is getting to be mostly game delays, but not all. (0:03:24) Codey: Maybe like half game delays right now. (0:03:24) Al: No, no, it wasn’t, it’s not… (0:03:26) Codey: Next episode will be more. (0:03:29) Al: This is not even half, it’s not even half. (0:03:31) Al: There’s only three game delays this episode. (0:03:33) Codey: Uh-huh, for now. (0:03:35) Codey: But, but literally the second after we record this, (0:03:39) Codey: you’re going to hit, we’re going to hit the boop (0:03:39) Al: Oh yeah, oh, for sure. (0:03:41) Codey: and then they’re going to be two more, 100 percent. (0:03:42) Al: For sure. (0:03:44) Al: I mean, we currently still have… (0:03:47) Al: Okay, like 20, like 30. (0:03:48) Al: We still have 30 games that are meant to be coming out this year. (0:03:51) Al: And it is halfway through. (0:03:52) Al: So, um, there’s going to be a lot more, a lot more delays. (0:03:55) Codey: Here we go. (0:03:58) Al: It’s my favorite time of the year, uh, game delay season. (0:04:00) Al: Uh, yeah, cool. So we’ve got some news, but first of all, Cody, what have you been up to? (0:04:06) Al: Other than trying to die in Costa Rica. (0:04:08) Codey: Uh, well, uh, unsuccessfully dying in Costa Rica. (0:04:13) Codey: Uh, and then just a lot of research stuff. (0:04:16) Codey: Um, and I was very, so I was in Costa Rica to do fly school, learn about flies, (0:04:21) Codey: learn how to identify them. (0:04:22) Codey: So I’ve been like super jazzed about getting through some of my (0:04:24) Codey: specimens, which is great. (0:04:26) Codey: Um, also did, uh, just did the great insect fair, which is Penn state’s big, (0:04:30) Codey: um, outreach event. (0:04:31) Codey: We had about 3000 people from across the state come and visit, um, (0:04:34) Codey: and learn about insects. (0:04:36) Codey: And that was super cool. (0:04:38) Codey: Uh, but when I wasn’t, uh, crippled by stress about the great insects, (0:04:43) Codey: great insect fair, uh, I was playing, uh, coral Island, of course, (0:04:47) Codey: a dove back into this game with both feet. (0:04:50) Codey: Um, not deep enough, but let, but we’ll get to that. (0:04:53) Codey: Uh, also a Disney dream light Valley. (0:04:56) Codey: I still play it every day. (0:04:57) Codey: Um, I’m trying to get all the critters and they, whether or not they show (0:05:02) Codey: up each day as a, you know, tossup. (0:05:05) Codey: Um, so I check. (0:05:08) Codey: Log on every morning and I check and see like, Oh, are they here? (0:05:10) Codey: I think I still have two of the crocodiles that I want and then one (0:05:14) Codey: Fox, um, that I don’t have, but I have befriended all of the other critters. (0:05:19) Codey: I’m also just like 100%ing everything in that game. (0:05:23) Codey: So I’m trying to get all the achievements. (0:05:24) Codey: So I give it maybe like 20 to 30 minutes a day. (0:05:28) Codey: Um, and then, uh, my best friend, Devin and I have moved on from (0:05:33) Codey: Minecraft for now, we’ve just tabled it. (0:05:36) Codey: and we’re playing Call of the Wild. (0:05:38) Codey: the angler so it’s a very uh it is farmville fishing oh sorry not farmville um (0:05:45) Codey: farming simulator fishing it’s like that quality but fish where it’s like really detailed about (0:05:53) Codey: do you have a float set up do you have a spinner set up do you have a what kind of set up do you (0:05:57) Codey: have what kind of rod do you have it’s it’s pretty intense but i’m enjoying it (0:06:02) Al: That looks like a game I do not want to play (0:06:06) Codey: it’s nice because it’s it’s all (0:06:08) Codey: open world. So there’s like, a bunch of different maps that (0:06:11) Codey: you can go to. And part of it, you just like explore the world. (0:06:15) Codey: And you also find you tell the people like when you see the (0:06:20) Codey: invasive bark beetle or the invasive purple loosestrife, (0:06:26) Codey: which is an invasive plant that often takes over like around (0:06:29) Codey: ponds. So you find these things. And it’s really cool because a (0:06:32) Codey: lot of it is legit. Like they told me about oxide daisy and (0:06:38) Codey: be on the lookout for oxide daisy. And then I was like, (0:06:40) Codey: this plant is glowing. And this is an oxide daisy. This looks (0:06:42) Codey: like a loosestrife. And I was like, Oh my gosh, it is. So it’s (0:06:47) Codey: just another thing that I can turn on play for like, five (0:06:51) Codey: minutes and then turn off if I don’t want to play it anymore. (0:06:54) Codey: The problem with Coral Island and games like it is I start a (0:06:58) Codey: day and then I’m like committed to that day. And then after the (0:07:02) Al: Yeah, but the games aren’t very long (0:07:02) Codey: day, you’re like, Oh, I can make those days last man. (0:07:08) Codey: I think I’ve also isn’t this one of the games you can like make (0:07:10) Codey: the days go slower? I think that’s one of the one of the (0:07:12) Al: Maybe I mean coral islanders are yes, we will do everything that you suggest type of game. So probably (0:07:13) Codey: accessibility things that you can do. (0:07:18) Codey: So I think I’ve done that because that was one of my (0:07:20) Codey: issues with Stardew is I was like you blink in the days over. (0:07:21) Al: Yeah, oh (0:07:23) Codey: But (0:07:23) Al: No, I like I like the shortness cuz then it’s like bam done I can put it away (0:07:28) Codey: no, I need, I need to be able to do everything. (0:07:29) Al: We. (0:07:32) Al: But you’ve got another day. See, this is how, this is how I’m four years into the game, (0:07:36) Codey: And I’m not even, it’s true. (0:07:36) Al: and you’re not even one year into the game. (0:07:40) Codey: The FOMO is so hard. (0:07:43) Codey: Like I, I finally did the thing where you like write down what you need to do for (0:07:49) Codey: like the basically community center, but it’s the Lake temple. (0:07:53) Codey: Like I wrote it down in a notebook that I have in front of me at all times. (0:07:57) Codey: And I wrote down like when you find all of the things. (0:08:00) Codey: So I’m like, and I didn’t do this until fall. (0:08:03) Codey: So now I’m like, look at all these fish that are spring and summer that I didn’t (0:08:06) Codey: know that they were evening fish in the river forest. (0:08:08) Al: Yeah. The fish is the thing I don’t have the most, and oh my word. We’ll get to that. We’ll get to that. We’ll get to that. We’ll get to later in the episode. (0:08:12) Codey: Or that, or that one. (0:08:16) Codey: What have you been plucked to? (0:08:18) Al: This, just before I do it, I was reading reviews on Call of the Wild, The Angler, because the reviews are, shall we say, mixed. (0:08:21) Codey: Yep. (0:08:27) Al: There are lots of people really like it, but here’s a fantastic review. (0:08:32) Al: 4.1 hours on record, not recommended, posted 4th of September. Somehow they managed to- (0:08:38) Al: -capture the true essence of real-life fishing in this game. Boring as hell? Check. Managing gear is tedious as hell? Check. You can spend hours fishing and catch nothing? Check. (0:08:47) Codey: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. (0:08:51) Al: The only thing they failed to capture was what a chura is to clean the fish/gear at the end of the day, but I shouldn’t give the devs any ideas. (0:08:58) Codey: Correct! So if you like fishing I’m sure you’d love this game because then you (0:09:02) Codey: don’t have to clean it either but yeah it is TDM it is the TDM of like (0:09:06) Codey: having to pick like oh you’re like oh you want a rainbow trout you have to (0:09:11) Codey: make sure that you have the right bait the right gear you have to go to the (0:09:15) Codey: right place you have to do all this stuff the right way and then yeah you still (0:09:21) Al: I mean, I will agree, that sounds like not fun. (0:09:24) Al: It does not sound like something that I would want to have anything to do with, but it’s (0:09:29) Al: a fishing sim. (0:09:30) Codey: Yep. What did you expect? (0:09:33) Al: If you don’t like fishing, maybe don’t play a fishing sim. (0:09:37) Codey: Yep. (0:09:37) Al: It’s not like something like trying to be different and trying to be interesting. (0:09:41) Al: It’s trying to be realistic, right? (0:09:45) Al: play a realistic fishing sim if you don’t like fishing. (0:09:48) Codey: Yep. It was funny because after playing it, and Jeff watched me play it a little bit, (0:09:54) Codey: we ended up we were near a Bass Pro Shop, which is like a giant, it’s like a Cabela’s or a big (0:10:02) Codey: like hunting store, but for fit, but mostly just for fit. Well, they I guess they had they had guns (0:10:07) Codey: as well. And we went in there to just walk around. Yeah. And we went in and walked around and then (0:10:09) Al: Of course it’s America, of course you would. (0:10:15) Codey: and then someone tried to sell us a vacation. (0:10:18) Codey: We’re like, Oh, we’re done. It was a hunting trip. (0:10:20) Al: I do enjoy how you mentioned like a fishing shop, which I was like “okay, a shop that (0:10:25) Al: has everything you need to do fishing, fair enough” and then you try and explain it by saying (0:10:29) Al: “it’s like a hunting shop, but for fish” and I’m like “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hunting shop”. (0:10:36) Codey: Yep. (0:10:38) Codey: Well, so I started explaining like, (0:10:40) Codey: oh, it’s like a Cabela’s. (0:10:41) Codey: And then I was like, I bet. (0:10:42) Codey: Al does not know what a Cabela’s is. (0:10:43) Al: I don’t know what that is either. Like I’m pretty sure shop that sells you fishing (0:10:50) Al: pretty self-explanatory. I know what that would mean. (0:10:54) Codey: but it does also have a hunting area and like you you can make bait bait traps (0:11:00) Codey: for your deer to like bait deer into your property like scent for deer like (0:11:04) Al: Oh. Classic fish. And also guns. What have I been up to? I have been playing Astrobot. (0:11:06) Codey: all there’s there’s more than just that yeah America anyway what have you been (0:11:21) Codey: You have to explain to me. (0:11:22) Al: So are you not aware of what Astrobot is? So, and he’s a little bit of background here. (0:11:24) Codey: I am not aware. (0:11:27) Codey: Okay. (0:11:29) Al: So Astrobot is a PlayStation character and he (0:11:34) Al: I think his first game was Astro’s Playroom, which was a free game that came with the PS5 (0:11:45) Al: and was basically like a tech demo of like all the things that the new controller could do. (0:11:51) Al: And it was super fun. And it’s like he’s this little cute robot. And the idea was you’ve got (0:11:55) Al: these little levels where you’re going around and you’re basically rescuing old Sony PlayStation (0:12:00) Al: stuff so you’re like getting a playstation one and then (0:12:04) Al: you’re getting like accessories for it you’re getting the original controller and then you get (0:12:09) Al: a ps2 and you get accessories for and it’s like that you end up building out this really nice (0:12:12) Codey: Grabbing the–grabbing those memory cards that you had to grab. (0:12:15) Al: yeah yeah exactly exactly loads of things like that and you’re built basically building out this (0:12:19) Al: museum and it was super fun um so they’ve built onto that and made a bigger game that they could (0:12:26) Al: actually sell um called astrobot and so it’s um I mean I basically it’s like (0:12:34) Al: way I would describe it is if sony decided to make a 3d mario game that’s basically what it is (0:12:42) Al: so it’s super fun i’m not very far through it because it came out a week ago and i’ve (0:12:46) Al: not had a huge amount of time so i’ve you know i’m through a few levels and um stuff but yeah i’m (0:12:52) Al: i’m enjoying myself it has the same fun whimsy of astro’s playroom it has the really nice controls (0:13:00) Al: of a good mario game it has the (0:13:04) Al: unique mechanics that mario wonder had um where lots of different levels have like one specific (0:13:10) Al: thing that doesn’t that level uh less kind of like trippy and more just like a mechanic type (0:13:15) Al: thing like oh sometimes you have monkey arms and you use them for climbing and sometimes you know (0:13:21) Al: the standard kind of mario stuff um so yeah it’s super fun um and it’s it’s I don’t know if it’s (0:13:28) Al: meant to be I don’t know if it’s going to be as nostalgic as the other one but it’s it feels like (0:13:34) Al: trying to do a similar sort of thing um in that your ship that you’re trying to rebuild is a ps5 (0:13:42) Al: and there’s a few things that i’ve kind of found that they’re not hardware stuff they’re like game (0:13:47) Al: based stuff this time so like you’re rescuing little robots like astrobot and there some of (0:13:53) Al: them are in costumes so I found the crash bandicoot one and I found the spyro one and stuff like that (0:13:55) Codey: oh my gosh (0:13:58) Al: so I think it’s more going for the nostalgia of the games this time which I mean makes sense (0:14:03) Codey: nostalgia machine activate. (0:14:05) Al: Um, I was wrong. They did have another Astro Bot game before Astro’s Playroom, (0:14:09) Al: and that was a PlayStation VR game for the PS4 in 2018 called… (0:14:14) Codey: So still showing off new technology. (0:14:16) Al: Yes, yeah, so I guess that’s kind of the same thing. But yeah, it does really fun stuff with (0:14:21) Al: the controller, and it’s enjoyable to play. And, you know, it’s a game for me to actually play on (0:14:26) Al: my PS5. [LAUGHS] There’s like 20 PS5-exclusive games, and half of them… (0:14:28) Codey: to justify that expense. (0:14:34) Al: And we’re four years into this console. (0:14:40) Codey: seems legit have you played a heavy rain have they remade that (0:14:44) Al: I have not. I don’t know. [LAUGHS] (0:14:49) Al: Fair enough. I remember when it came out, and I remember being like, “Oh, it’s great.” (0:14:56) Al: I’ve not made a remake. I’m not seeing anything about a remake. (0:15:02) Al: What else? I’ve also been… (0:15:04) Al: playing lots of Marvel Snap and this week, if people were listening last week, I was (0:15:09) Al: sitting kind of like ranks 70 I think. I am now at rank 100, infinity rank, so I’m at (0:15:15) Al: the top of the ladder. So wooo! Exciting. I know I’m not sure what to do. Well, yeah, (0:15:17) Codey: Woo. (0:15:20) Codey: Well, no, now that now the real game begins, right, max rank. (0:15:26) Al: I don’t really care. So the problem is, I don’t really care about grinding that number (0:15:31) Al: out because you don’t really get any good rewards for it. (0:15:33) Al: And so it’s– (0:15:35) Al: for the sake of playing, and I’m never gonna get up to the top. So I like goals that are realistic. (0:15:40) Al: So I’m just playing conquest instead, which is like you have to play a– you have to win a match (0:15:46) Al: in a row to get the first ticket, and then you get two in a row to get the next ticket, and then three (0:15:52) Al: in a row, and then you have to– so you essentially have to win, I think it’s like 10 battles in a row, (0:15:57) Al: and then you win a bunch of another currency that you use to buy something. So that’s what I’m (0:16:02) Al: what I’m doing just now, but it’s pretty hard. (0:16:04) Al: And the problem is that any time you lose you have to go all the way down to the beginning again (0:16:04) Codey: Yeah. (0:16:08) Al: Win one to get the next ticket and then win two to get the next (0:16:08) Codey: Of course you do. (0:16:12) Codey: Could you pay a premium currency to not lose your space? (0:16:16) Codey: Oh, that’s a that’s a missed opportunity from them. They (0:16:21) Al: you can grind out the lower tickets. So that’s what I’m doing just now, like grinding out (0:16:25) Al: as many of the silver tickets as I can so that I don’t have to keep going back down. (0:16:30) Al: And I can just like then grind out as many of the gold ones as possible. And then when (0:16:35) Al: I eventually win the gold one, then I can like try and grind that for the infinity one. (0:16:40) Al: I can’t remember. And I’ve been I’ve been getting back into reading comics. So as as (0:16:49) Al: As happens every year, I resubscribed. (0:16:51) Al: For a year of Marvel Unlimited when I should actually use this and went and read a bunch (0:16:57) Al: of comics. So I’m reading through the Ms. Marvel comics just now because I really like Ms. Marvel. (0:17:03) Al: She’s one of my favorite characters. And yeah, it’s been good. I’ve just finished the Inhumans (0:17:10) Al: versus X-Men comics line, which was good. I enjoyed that. But what I find really funny is, (0:17:17) Al: as you’re following stories. You come across characters that you’re not (0:17:21) Al: actively following, but you know some about. But then, because you’ve not been actively (0:17:26) Al: following them in the comics, their status is completely different from what you would expect (0:17:30) Al: it to be, right? And so you’re like, “I need to find out why, for example, why is Cyclops a child (0:17:30) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:17:35) Al: just now?” And so you look into the reasons for why Cyclops is a child, and you find out that (0:17:36) Codey: Yeah, see (0:17:40) Al: actually Cyclops went evil and died. And this is Cyclops from the past, who’s now having to deal (0:17:46) Al: with the fact that he knows that he grows up to be evil and dies. (0:17:52) Codey: Yup, this is classic Marvel to me, because like I mean, it (0:17:53) Al: Yeah. (0:17:58) Codey: requires it’s no longer like standalone, like it requires (0:18:02) Codey: that you have seen everything. I remember going and seeing one (0:18:05) Codey: of the most recent movies, like the multiverse of madness or (0:18:10) Codey: whatever. And I was like, wait, why is Scarlet Witch bad and (0:18:13) Codey: wait visions dead? And like it was just like, wait, what? (0:18:13) Al: think yeah I mean I’m not I think I think this is just one of these things (0:18:19) Al: where you just have to kind of if you’re not willing to do everything you just (0:18:23) Al: kind of have to accept that sometimes you won’t know the current state of (0:18:26) Al: things and you know I would go into these things I mean obviously I watch (0:18:30) Al: all of the Marvel stuff like all the shows and films because it’s not really (0:18:32) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:18:34) Al: on the level of reading all the comics like reading all the comics is basically (0:18:37) Al: impossible watching all the shows and TV series the films and TV series it’s not (0:18:37) Codey: Right (0:18:42) Al: that difficult, right? (0:18:43) Al: You have any sort of, like, time that you can do on a weekly basis. You can keep up (0:18:47) Al: to date reasonably easily, if you want to. But, well, like, this year, for example, so (0:18:49) Codey: No. (0:18:50) Codey: I’m going to do a little bit of a (0:18:54) Al: far we have had one 10-episode series in one film, so far, this year, and we’re in September. (0:19:03) Al: So it’s not… that’s not an unreasonable amount to try and keep up to date if you care (0:19:07) Al: about it. And the TV series was, like, an animation anyway. It was unrelated to the (0:19:11) Al: current multiverse, you don’t have to pay attention. (0:19:12) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:19:14) Al: There’s one film, that’s all that’s been so far this year. (0:19:16) Codey: Yeah, no, it’s good wait was the one film that the Deadpool okay, I did (0:19:17) Al: So, yeah, so I also enjoyed it. But yeah, so I don’t, I think it’s just kind of one of these (0:19:29) Al: things we just have to accept if you’re not willing to keep up with it. But why I find fun (0:19:33) Al: about it in the comics is it’s like, oh, this is a really weird situation. I just stop reading the (0:19:38) Al: comic, go find out why this person is in this situation, and then come back. Because there’s (0:19:43) Al: a lot of explanations for most things. And you learn more about other storylines that you’re (0:19:44) Codey: Yeah, no, my ADHD, I would be like, huh, I want to know why this is the way it is. (0:19:48) Al: not going to go and read. (0:19:56) Codey: And then I’d read that and then be like, Oh, because he went evil. (0:19:59) Codey: And I’d be like, huh, why did he do that? (0:20:01) Codey: And then I’d go down that rabbit hole. (0:20:03) Al: Yeah, and that’s one way to do it as well, you know, and it just like each their own and maybe (0:20:03) Codey: And then, yeah, that’s, yeah. (0:20:07) Al: you decide that means that you don’t read comics and that’s fine, you know? Like, um, that is, (0:20:11) Codey: Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. (0:20:13) Al: I am enjoying it. It’s good fun. So, uh, yeah. That’s what we’ve been up to. (0:20:19) Al: All right, time for some game news. First of all, Tales of the Shire has been delayed till 2025. (0:20:26) Al: Uh, uh, yeah, the, they’ve not really. (0:20:33) Al: Said much about it other than I want to make the game better. Um, the standard. Fine. Uh, but (0:20:41) Al: they announced that just after, it’s interesting. They announced it just after the announcement for (0:20:45) Al: the announcement. Uh, but yeah, they announced that they are having a showcase on Hobbit day, (0:20:54) Al: which is apparently a thing apparently has been a thing for years. Hobbit day, the 22nd of sort (0:20:58) Codey: Oh, I wonder why it’s Hobbit. (0:21:07) Codey: I thought it was because it was his birthday, but it’s (0:21:09) Codey: There we go. (0:21:10) Al: It’s the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo. (0:21:13) Codey: Make sense. (0:21:13) Al: Interesting, I didn’t realize I had the same birthday. (0:21:15) Al: That’s funny. (0:21:16) Codey: Yep. (0:21:17) Codey: Delayed. (0:21:18) Codey: Delayed. (0:21:21) Al: But yeah, we’ll have some more news about that. (0:21:23) Al: Maybe in the next episode, it’s the 22nd, which is the Sunday. (0:21:27) Al: I don’t know if I want to wait till after that’s been done. (0:21:29) Al: We’ll see. (0:21:30) Al: I’ll decide later. (0:21:30) Codey: Mm-hmm. It’s fine. It’s not going anywhere clearly (0:21:31) Al: We’ll, we’ll see. (0:21:32) Al: We’ll see. (0:21:36) Al: No, I know, but you know, this is our, you know, up to date. (0:21:40) Al: News podcast. (0:21:40) Codey: You know what we should totally do listeners let me know if you think this would be funny if ever there’s anything like that (0:21:45) Codey: We’re like we record or some news comes out after we record you could have a section. That’s like the (0:21:52) Codey: Breaking news and then you just like input that into the podcast, but you record it after their podcast (0:21:58) Al: So my my hesitation on that is that that involves like setting up another called (0:22:05) Codey: No, I’m just thinking like you have either you do it or you’re like, hey, (0:22:08) Codey: Cody, do a boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, breaking news about this news. (0:22:12) Al: But I but I think the fun thing about this podcast (0:22:16) Codey: I mean, people listen to me ramble by myself. (0:22:20) Codey: It happens. (0:22:22) Codey: It’s not unenjoyable, I guess. (0:22:23) Al: “Shookajoo Island have announced that they are delayed until early 2025.” (0:22:24) Codey: [LAUGH] Delayed. (0:22:29) Codey: Woo! (0:22:30) Al: I’m shocked about this one. I definitely didn’t predict this one at all. (0:22:30) Codey: Nope. (0:22:37) Al: So, I mean they’re using the excuse of a grant. (0:22:43) Al: Okay, fine. But presumably the grant means that you can do something for the game that (0:22:48) Al: you wanted to do for the game and have it in the release. So it’s something you always want. (0:22:53) Al: I just feel like this team, they just keep expanding the scope of the game. (0:22:58) Al: Because they added loads of stretch goals in the Kickstarter campaign and they were all (0:23:03) Al: things that just push out the release date. So, I wonder if this game will ever actually come out. (0:23:06) Codey: Yep, these are all things that (0:23:09) Codey: These are all things that could come out after the relief (0:23:13) Al: Yep. (0:23:14) Codey: But it’s I mean, I think it’s cool that they got money from the state that they live in in Germany (0:23:19) Codey: I think that’s really cool. Like the government’s getting involved. I don’t know how that happened (0:23:24) Al: Yeah, I don’t know if this is a thing in America or not, but it’s a reasonably common thing (0:23:29) Al: over here, where most countries have arts funds that they give out as grants to people. (0:23:35) Codey: Nah, no, it’s sports funds over here. (0:23:40) Al: Oh, funny. See, if I go on to Kickstarter, every time I go on to Kickstarter there’s a little (0:23:44) Al: banner up at the top that says, I’m just loading it up, of course the banner doesn’t appear the (0:23:51) Al: one time I actually talk about it. Literally every saying I’ve ever gone to (0:23:55) Al: this banner appears and it basically says something about their being. You can apply for (0:24:00) Al: Creative Scotland funding. So that’s the one that’s obviously in Scotland. So yeah they all have, (0:24:06) Al: most countries in certainly in Western Europe that I know of have similar sort of ideas where (0:24:12) Al: there’s a certain amount of their budget that they’ll put towards arts funding. (0:24:16) Codey: yep nope nothing here though I think it’s cool on the home page of kickstarter there have been (0:24:21) Codey: eight billion dollars put towards creative works wild look at us (0:24:24) Al: Nice. (0:24:29) Al: Yep, and they’ve also confirmed that their Switch version is started. (0:24:34) Codey: - Yep. (0:24:35) Al: So they’re started the porting. (0:24:37) Codey: - It’s happening. (0:24:39) Codey: - I think we need another delay, Al. (0:24:42) Al: Well, next we have two Pixellia, who’ve announced they’re delayed till 2025. (0:24:48) Codey: Oh, oh, so happy, thank you, I needed that. (0:24:53) Al: they are currently (0:24:55) Al: targeting March, April next year. (0:25:00) Al: So we’ll see. (0:25:01) Al: I like the wording there, right? (0:25:03) Al: It’s like, it’s not we’re planning to release then. (0:25:06) Al: It’s that that’s our target. (0:25:08) Al: And I think people are, I think people understand that difference in wording to (0:25:14) Al: make it like, oh, that’s kind of a wibbly, wobbly. (0:25:16) Codey: Mm-hmm a little bit of a hand wavy deadline. I did love (0:25:21) Codey: One of some of the reasons that they wanted to do it is they want to create (0:25:24) Codey: Quote customization options free from gender, which I like (0:25:30) Codey: Totally like that. I also like that. They wanted to quote add more crime (0:25:35) Codey: opportunities (0:25:36) Al: “Be gay, do crime”, that’s what you’re saying, right? (0:25:37) Codey: Be gay do crime (0:25:43) Al: Was that just a really long way of getting to that phrase? (0:25:45) Codey: I actually had (0:25:46) Codey: not even thought be gay do crime you said it and I was like oh my god but yeah yeah be gay do crime (0:25:55) Al: Oh dear, am I going to be brave enough to put that as the title for this episode? (0:25:59) Codey: please please i’m gonna add it in to mention it and everything (0:26:07) Al: Oh dear. (0:26:08) Codey: too pixelly I think I think i’ve had it with delays though so let’s maybe (0:26:12) Al: Well, have I got an exciting update for you. (0:26:15) Al: Gogotown have announced that their build and bustle update is technically not out right now, (0:26:21) Al: but it will be out by the time this episode comes out. (0:26:24) Al: I think it’s out in like three or four hours as we’re recording. (0:26:28) Codey: Oh sweet, okay. (0:26:30) Al: Because it’s Monday in Australia. (0:26:30) Codey: Which… (0:26:33) Codey: Oh yeah. (0:26:34) Codey: If I remember correctly, some of the things they’re adding (0:26:37) Codey: are things that you thought they should add, right? (0:26:40) Al: Yes, so they are, big things about this are that they, so it’s called the build and bustle update. (0:26:49) Al: They have the ability to buy more land to expand the town, which is good. And they are again saying (0:26:55) Al: that you can customize the industry zones. We still don’t have a huge amount of detail of that (0:26:59) Al: as far as I can see. They do talk about, I’ve seen something on their Twitter about moving (0:27:05) Al: the items within the zone, but not about, I’ve not seen anything about, (0:27:10) Al: moving the industry zone, which is, I mean, it could be just the one thing that makes me think (0:27:18) Al: that might not be what they’re doing is because there are big things that are like part of the (0:27:22) Al: ground, right? Like there’s a cave, which is part of the, which is the industry zone for the mining. (0:27:27) Al: And it’s like, are they actually moving the cave? I guess we’ll find out when it actually comes out. (0:27:31) Codey: They discovered a new cave that looks exactly like the old cave. (0:27:35) Al: And the first cave filled itself in. (0:27:38) Codey: And there, yep, the old cave. We just didn’t like it anymore. It collapsed. (0:27:41) Al: It just collapsed. (0:27:44) Al: So yeah, I don’t know. I mean, maybe they’re just going, (0:27:47) Al: “It doesn’t matter. Suspension of disbelief. The cave will move.” (0:27:50) Codey: Yeah (0:27:51) Al: Which they can do. I just don’t know if they’re going to or not. We’ll see. (0:27:56) Al: Hopefully we’ll get some details pretty quickly after it comes out. (0:27:59) Al: And the other big thing is they’ve added a subway system. (0:28:04) Al: So you can have up to four lines on your subway, which is cool. (0:28:10) Al: That’s cool. Allowing people to get around the town more efficiently. (0:28:14) Al: Because this was a little bit of my worry. If you make it bigger, which it needs to be bigger, (0:28:15) Codey: Yeah. (0:28:17) Al: but if you make it bigger, do you have a problem where nobody gets to the outer bits? (0:28:22) Al: But hopefully, this just means that some of them will go to the stuff in the middle, (0:28:27) Al: and some of them will immediately jump on the subway and go to different parts of the town. (0:28:28) Codey: I guess, is the subway system like do you see yourself riding it or do you just be like (0:28:37) Codey: I want to go over here and then it just like fades to black and then you’re like yay I’m (0:28:42) Codey: over here now. (0:28:43) Al: I haven’t seen any video of it happening, but I have seen there are some screenshots (0:28:52) Al: of inside the subway station. So I feel like you’re at least kind of going into the subway (0:28:59) Al: and I guess we’ll see what that means. (0:29:02) Codey: I hope it’s authentic in that one of the subway systems is really really dirty and has a lot (0:29:09) Codey: of graffiti and then the central one is like pristine and clearly is the one that’s actually (0:29:15) Al: Not everywhere is the same as America, Cody. (0:29:16) Codey: because I hope it’s America realistic. America being a new verb that I just made. (0:29:24) Al: We have exactly one subway system in Scotland, and it is very nice. (0:29:29) Codey: It’s not real. (0:29:30) Al: It’s the third oldest subway in the world, fun fact. (0:29:32) Codey: That is super cool. (0:29:33) Al: Yeah. (0:29:34) Al: Do you know what two subways are older than it? (0:29:37) Codey: London Underground, maybe? (0:29:39) Al: That’s one of them. (0:29:40) Codey: Something in India. (0:29:41) Al: Nope. (0:29:42) Codey: Okay, I don’t know, I give up. (0:29:42) Al: I’m not gonna guess anymore (0:29:45) Al: you just guess guess no I’m pretty sure it was Bucharest but I’m just double (0:29:46) Codey: I genuinely don’t, I genuinely don’t know what else there was. (0:29:54) Al: checking no not Bucharest I was wrong failed Budapest Budapest so I was so (0:30:01) Codey: Though oh, yeah, okay cool (0:30:07) Al: close same thing Budapest Bucharest ah (0:30:09) Codey: Well, I love how I (0:30:12) Codey: Love how your guys is (0:30:14) Codey: Like more the OG than ours, but when people think of subway they think of our subways (0:30:22) Al: Do they now? (0:30:22) Codey: I mean if you ever see someone use a subway in any movie, it looks like (0:30:27) Al: In American movies? (0:30:28) Codey: The underworld movies which I think they’re supposed to be (0:30:32) Codey: have (0:30:32) Al: What’s that? Sorry, Underworld. It’s an American film. (0:30:35) Codey: It’s okay, it’s an American film, but it’s not supposed to be in (0:30:38) Al: Uh-huh. (0:30:40) Al: I’m sorry, American people make films that have American-looking things and is not a surprise. (0:30:48) Al: Is it now? (0:30:48) Codey: Wes Craven is rolling over in his grave right now. Actually I don’t know if he’s dead. Anyway! (0:30:48) Al: - Mm-hmm. (0:30:49) Al: Mm-hmm. (0:30:52) Al: They also are adding car parks and vehicle racks for all of your vehicles that you use, which is cool. (0:31:00) Al: Because I mean, I was just like leaving them in the middle of the street. (0:31:02) Al: I don’t know what to do with this. It just goes there. So that’s nice. (0:31:06) Al: And a bunch of new items. (0:31:10) Al: Well, so you have cars that are vehicles that you use and you have bikes that are vehicles that you use. (0:31:16) Al: So one presumably is like, yeah, a car park is like a parking lot, as you would call it, yeah. (0:31:16) Codey: OK. (0:31:18) Codey: Cool. (0:31:22) Al: It’s a park for your car and the vehicle racks will be for bikes and trikes and stuff like that. (0:31:28) Al: So, yeah, we’ll see what that’s like once it’s out. (0:31:32) Codey: a 1.1, I guess it wouldn’t be a 1.1, but a second harvest. (0:31:36) Al: Yeah, they’re just calling it the build and bustle update, which is the major update one. (0:31:42) Al: I don’t know if they’ve got a version numbering scheme or not. I haven’t looked. We’ll see, probably. (0:31:48) Codey: Don’t look it’s probably disappointing (0:31:50) Codey: Cool no no don’t look numbering schemes are awful (0:31:52) Al: I mean, you know that I’m looking, right? (0:31:56) Al: I can’t find it. You’re lucky. You’re saved this time. (0:31:59) Codey: It’s for the best (0:32:02) Al: Yeah, it probably is. Steam seems to be really kind of unsure as to how it actually shows you version numbers. (0:32:08) Codey: aren’t we all version numbers are just a myth. Oh no he found it. (0:32:10) Al: Oh, here we go. Here we go. Here we go. (0:32:12) Al: So minor update five was version number. Are you ready for this? 0.4, 0.53. (0:32:22) Al: 0.16416EA. (0:32:25) Codey: Oh, ‘cause it’s early access, right, right. (0:32:30) Al: So it’s yeah, I don’t know why. So presumably this will be 0.5 because all of the minor updates have been 0.4 point something. (0:32:40) Al: So 0.5 point zero point. And then the last bit is, I think, a build number. (0:32:46) Al: So it’ll be 0.5.0 point something. (0:32:52) Al: You don’t need to put the build number in your version number that you publish, just (0:32:55) Al: letting you know, but fine, you can do what you want. (0:32:58) Al: I’m not in charge of you. (0:33:02) Al: Next we have, for some reason, a new paid DLC for Havrest Moon Winds of Anthos. (0:33:07) Codey: It’ll bring people in. (0:33:08) Al: The Great Outdoors. (0:33:11) Al: The weird thing I guess is that like, they’ve just released a new game, and now they’re (0:33:15) Al: releasing DLC for their console game rather than their mobile game, and yeah, I don’t know. (0:33:22) Codey: I mean, I like the idea of this DLC. (0:33:22) Al: Yeah, sure, so it’s a camping one, basically. (0:33:28) Al: You can go out and first of all, you can find treasure out and about, but you can also camp, (0:33:34) Al: so you can have a tent and camp wherever you are, so you don’t have to go home to sleep, (0:33:38) Al: which is cool. (0:33:38) Codey: I do like that a lot. (0:33:39) Al: We’re like this, yeah. (0:33:40) Codey: These games where you have to run all the way back home (0:33:42) Al: Yeah, yep. (0:33:42) Codey: are really flipping annoying. (0:33:45) Al: It doesn’t make the game fun, but it does, it would be, in a game that actually is fun (0:33:50) Al: come to play, this would be a nice addition. (0:33:52) Al: Look, if they want to make a game fun to play I will say it’s fun to play. You can (0:33:53) Codey: - The shade. (0:34:02) Al: also take… Oh yes, so apparently they’re also adding a new robot that will take care (0:34:08) Al: of your pets and animals while you’re away, so that’s cool. And then you can also take (0:34:14) Al: animals with you on your adventures, and I see there’s a screenshot of you with a bear, (0:34:20) Al: like just sitting by a big breath. (0:34:22) Al: Brown bear. I don’t think that’s safe. (0:34:22) Codey: Yep. They said that it’s not 100% do not condone sitting next to a bear ever, mostly because then if something happens and if the bear attacks you, then it becomes the bear’s problem, which is not great. (0:34:39) Codey: Yeah, I like the idea. They all it also mentions that like depending on which pet like each pet has a different boost or like benefit of coming with you. (0:34:49) Codey: no idea about the details of that, but maybe like. (0:34:52) Codey: It’s like, oh, if you bring this dog, this dog with you, they might find something. (0:34:56) Codey: Or I don’t know, but I think that’s cool. (0:35:01) Codey: And I just like the idea of not having to like end it at your house. (0:35:05) Codey: Cause like, what if you’re in the mines and you just really want to be in the mines, (0:35:10) Codey: but it’s getting to that time of night and you can just like go back to the (0:35:12) Codey: entrance of the mines and just camp. (0:35:14) Codey: And then when you open, when you like start the day again, you’re just at your camp. (0:35:18) Al: Yeah, I agree. I agree. The robot seems to be one that you put in your barn, and it will (0:35:25) Al: do all the kind of tasks that you want it to do, which is, I mean, good, but, you know, (0:35:30) Al: Stardew has had that for six years. So yeah, cool. That is coming out on the 3rd of October, (0:35:37) Al: and it is $10. Also, I hope the robot isn’t required to have the paid DLC. That’s bad. (0:35:40) Codey: I don’t know if I’d pay that, but… (0:35:46) Al: add quality of life improvements. (0:35:49) Al: Add content in DLC, bad boo, don’t do that. (0:35:54) Al: Next we have the Lens Island controllers and Steam Deck update. (0:35:58) Al: Hey Cody, can you guess what update, what this brings? (0:36:02) Codey: I think that it brings gay crime. (0:36:07) Codey: No, that’s super cool. (0:36:08) Codey: You’ve been wanting a steam deck compatibility, right? (0:36:12) Al: Yes. (0:36:12) Codey: Is this– are you going to start playing it now? (0:36:14) Al: Well, no, at this point, I’m just going to wait for 1.0, which is meant to come out, (0:36:15) Codey: Yeah, that’s– I’m the same. (0:36:17) Codey: I’m– yeah. (0:36:18) Al: this year, so it’s definitely, yeah, no, I’m waiting for 1.0 at this point. (0:36:19) Codey: Yeah. (0:36:22) Codey: They’re still making progress. (0:36:23) Codey: It’s really cool. (0:36:25) Codey: They also have said that now, if you put a bed in the dungeon, (0:36:30) Codey: This is a very… (0:36:32) Codey: similar to what we were just talking about. (0:36:33) Codey: If you put a bed in the dungeon, and then you die in the dungeon, (0:36:36) Codey: you actually respawn in the bed instead of, like, all the way back at your house. (0:36:39) Codey: Which is pretty neat. (0:36:40) Codey: Uh, and then they also said that they fixed, um, (0:36:44) Codey: apparently some of the enemies were targeting your bed, (0:36:46) Codey: and would damage your bed. (0:36:48) Codey: And, like, break your bed. (0:36:48) Al: Hahahahaha! (0:36:49) Codey: Which, honestly, kind of funny. (0:36:50) Al: Don’t break my badge! (0:36:50) Al: Hahaha! (0:36:51) Al: Hahaha! (0:36:53) Codey: Kind of wish that was still in there. (0:36:55) Codey: Like, you put a bed down, and then you gotta protect your bed. (0:36:56) Al: Hahaha! (0:37:00) Codey: I mean because if I was an enemy and i (0:37:02) Codey: saw someone lay a bed down i’m tagging that bed down like you don’t get to (0:37:06) Codey: respawn there again you gotta go walk your butt all the way back to the (0:37:09) Codey: beginning of the dungeon no no bed in the beginning but yeah (0:37:13) Codey: no so the enemies will no longer target your bed (0:37:16) Codey: um you can respawn I they just keep they’re really on (0:37:20) Codey: on it with these uh updates for this game and just (0:37:23) Codey: it has come so far and i’m so excited to play it when it’s a 1.0 (0:37:28) Al: Yeah, maybe this should be my, like, December game. Maybe. We’ll see. I mean, I already own it, (0:37:32) Codey: yeah (0:37:35) Codey: yep (0:37:35) Al: right? So I just need the time. So I think that I couldn’t find this when I tried to look for it, (0:37:40) Codey: happy holidays to you (0:37:48) Al: but I’m pretty sure I saw somewhere that this was their last update before the 1.0. (0:37:54) Al: But I can’t, I couldn’t find it when I tried to look for it. So maybe it was on Twitter or (0:37:59) Al: I dare not speak the name of. Well, it’s not the name of it, is it? (0:38:01) Codey: after speaking the name of. (0:38:04) Codey: Oh, you’re right, you’re right. (0:38:07) Al: OK, and finally, we also have Danchi Days. So we mentioned this in the last episode. This is the (0:38:15) Al: kind of Game Boy inspired 2D summer, Japanese summer game. They (0:38:26) Al: replied on YouTube to say that they (0:38:28) Al: have just launched their Steam page. So we’ll have that as a link in the show notes for you, (0:38:34) Al: and there’s a few more kind of screenshots and stuff like that. And the new information I get (0:38:40) Al: from this is they say the aim of the game is to invite 151 people to a summer festival. (0:38:47) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:38:49) Codey: For a lot of people who play Game Boy games (0:38:52) Codey: and hear the number 151, I don’t think so. (0:38:54) Al: Yep. Coincidental number? I probably think not. (0:38:59) Codey: But it is cool. (0:38:59) Codey: You are basically– you use the internet and the social media (0:39:03) Codey: to try and understand what those 151 people like. (0:39:08) Codey: They are actual people. (0:39:10) Codey: I mean, some of them might not be people. (0:39:11) Codey: You have a duck buddy. (0:39:13) Codey: But, um, oh. (0:39:14) Al: Docks are people, T. (0:39:16) Codey: Awwww. (0:39:17) Codey: I’ll be darned um so uh you use like social media and kind of like learn try and find see what (0:39:25) Codey: people like and make sure that they have it at the event and befriend them and invite them to (0:39:30) Codey: the summer event um it’s basically teaching people to be um advertisers (0:39:36) Al: Yeah and each of the different, so you have different the people you want to (0:39:40) Al: invite all have different websites because it’s very much set in the 90s (0:39:43) Al: right? So everyone has to have their own website and they all seem to have quite (0:39:47) Al: a lot of personalities so like there’s someone who’s an entrepreneur and then (0:39:51) Al: there’s someone who likes water and then there’s someone who’s like rules are (0:39:54) Al: meaningless do whatever you want and they just have three buttons that say do (0:39:57) Al: not press and then you can press the buttons. So yeah it looks like they’re (0:40:02) Al: all kind of quite unique, which is fun. I suspect 150. (0:40:06) Al: One of them won’t be unique, but there’s at least, you know, some personality there, which is cool. (0:40:07) Codey: Right. (0:40:10) Codey: I did, it did make me laugh like looking at it (0:40:12) Codey: ‘cause it says it’s a Y2K inspired game. (0:40:15) Codey: And that, (0:40:16) Al: Oh, so it does. Yeah, so not 90s. Sorry. 2000. I was I was close. (0:40:19) Codey: yeah, I mean, that’s late 90s. (0:40:23) Codey: But yeah, it made me laugh like to see that (0:40:23) Al: Don’t do this. Don’t do (0:40:28) Codey: press any button you want, like style thing. (0:40:31) Codey: ‘Cause that era was the era of like the impossible game (0:40:37) Codey: online that you were supposed to do (0:40:39) Codey: all these different things. (0:40:40) Codey: And if you do one thing wrong, (0:40:41) Codey: you’re set back to the beginning. (0:40:42) Codey: And it was just really silly things, (0:40:46) Codey: like hit the smallest circle (0:40:49) Codey: and it’s the dot on the eye and stuff like that. (0:40:51) Codey: Or another game that was really popular at that time (0:40:53) Codey: was Don’t Shoot the Puppy. (0:40:55) Codey: And it was literally, if you move your, (0:40:58) Codey: you start the game and if you move your mouse (0:40:59) Codey: that all this giant machine gun shoots a puppy. (0:41:02) Codey: So you literally just have to like click the button (0:41:04) Codey: and then do nothing until… (0:41:07) Codey: you can click the button again and classic Y2K game so it captures the vibe (0:41:11) Al: classic. We had one that we played in my school where we were - it was literally just (0:41:19) Al: a button that you press and it increases the number, kind of like the one in the thing. (0:41:23) Codey: Yeah like cookie clicker. (0:41:23) Al: And so we would like all be sitting - yeah, it was kind of like a clip but there was no like (0:41:27) Al: expansion to it. It was literally just number, one number, one click. And so we would like (0:41:33) Al: try and play it like in our computing classes without the teacher noticing and just see who (0:41:36) Al: who could get the biggest number in one period. (0:41:41) Al: It was… (0:41:42) Codey: back in our day kids you just clicked a button as many times as you could and that was entertainment (0:41:48) Al: Or in the case of “Don’t Shoot the Puppy” didn’t click a button! (0:41:51) Codey: or didn’t click a button and that was and you just watched this puppy and it went in one of (0:41:56) Codey: them it was like one of the things that like brought up the button that was like start the (0:42:01) Codey: level or whatever and then you’re like oh I forgot to click it and then you move the thing (0:42:05) Codey: and then it shoots the puppy and it’s like ah I didn’t forget to click it it just got me (0:42:09) Codey: me. (0:42:10) Al: And then there was the stuff with like Webull’s stuff, the cartoon, the flash. (0:42:12) Codey: No, weebles. (0:42:14) Al: Yeah, classic. (0:42:16) Codey: Uh. (0:42:17) Al: Anyway, we’re going to stop being nostalgic here. (0:42:19) Codey: What? (0:42:23) Al: That’s all the news. (0:42:24) Codey: Whoo! (0:42:26) Al: We do have three new games as well to cover. (0:42:28) Codey: Whoo. (0:42:31) Al: Wow. (0:42:32) Al: First of all, we have Sea Sniffers. (0:42:34) Al: All right, here we go. (0:42:36) Al: Sea Sniffers is a cosy diving game in (0:42:40) Al: the ocean with your trusty sea companion encounter strange creatures and exotic (0:42:44) Al: treasures and nearly nearly said a different word than exotic in sunken (0:42:49) Al: ships or hidden caves discover the deep sea and all its secrets. (0:42:54) Al: And I need to do my usual don’t call your game cosy. (0:42:56) Al: You don’t get to decide that. (0:42:57) Al: Yeah. (0:42:58) Codey: Also, don’t call your game cozy (0:42:58) Al: You. (0:42:59) Codey: when that seal is throwing hands. (0:43:03) Codey: That seal, like to fight off people (0:43:07) Codey: but also to like harvest things, (0:43:10) Codey: it just seems to punch. (0:43:12) Al: It is an interesting level of cosy, I will say, in the, you know, obviously a game doesn&a

Could subbing in multiple offices before starting your own be the key to clarity? In this episode, we're bringing on Dr. Lara Saleh, a seasoned dentist, to reveal some game-changing advice for aspiring practitioners. Lara shares her journey from working in various offices to finally opening her own practice, highlighting the invaluable lessons she learned along the way. She candidly discusses the protocols and strategies that have made her practice thrive, from managing financial challenges to implementing clear emergency protocols. This episode is packed with real-world insights that could make all the difference for anyone dreaming of establishing their own dental hub.Lara delves into the critical importance of working in multiple dental environments before taking the plunge to start your own practice. Recognizing what works and what doesn't has helped her shape a practice that not only meets her standards but also ensures patient safety and satisfaction. She pulls back the curtain on the must-have protocols and the potential pitfalls, including which stress-inducing sedation techniques to avoid and why hiring adaptable team members is crucial. With a focus on continual learning and adaptation, Lara's advice is both practical and inspiring for any dentist looking to elevate their career.What You'll Learn in This Episode:The benefits of working in multiple dental offices before starting your own practice.Key protocols to have in place for a successful practice.Financial challenges of running a dental practice and how to manage them.Non-negotiable practices that will ensure the smooth operation of your clinic.Effective team management strategies and the importance of hiring adaptable team members.Why continual learning and adapting to new systems keep your practice competitive.Tune in now to empower your career with Lara's expert advice!‍‍Sponsors:‍Oryx: an all-in-one cloud-based dental software created by dentists for dentists.Patient engagement, clinical, and practice management software that helps your dental practice grow without compromise. Visit Oryx today for a special TDM offer! (Just click or copy and paste the link here) https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/oryx/‍You can reach out to Dr. Lara Saleh here:Website: https://drtoothfairy.com/Email: lara@drtoothfairy.com‍Mentions and Links: Terms:Demerol‍If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)‍Michael: Hey, Laura. So talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning? Lara: my one piece of advice for anyone who is thinking about opening their own practice. is if it's possible to do what I did. And I think it's a wonderful start of a career. If you want to do private practice is to take some time off, but not completely off.You'll be doing subbing or replacing doctors. Either because of an injury, or they go on maternity leave, or for any other reason, they just want to go on vacation, you just cover for them. So I did this exclusively for about 18 months before I opened my own practice, and that really opened my eyes to what I wanted to implement in my office, what were the non negotiable things that I wanted in my office, what I could compromise on, And the definite no no's. And I gained a lot of perspective by knowing what not to do in my office. And actually it set my priority list on what's really important and non negotiable all the way down to what's really a kind of forbidden to be done in my office. And that I do not want to go down that path.And that was. The best thing that I did throughout my career, because when you work in one office for a long period of time, you're an associate, you get sucked into that office and the policies of that office. I think I covered about, 21 offices in the whole state of Virginia, where I worked, I just got to see so many things that I never thought I would implement in my own office, or I didn't think it would have been, a good idea.But when I was there and practice in these offices, it turned out to be fantastic ideas that I would have never thought about had I not been in that situation in this office at that time. Michael: After the 18 months, did you feel ready?Were you like, okay, this is all I needed. I'm good to go on my own. Lara: Absolutely. I felt I'm ready to do everything that I needed to do clinically to open a practice. But also there's not a lot of transparency when you're actually visiting an office. There's not like that huge door that they would open for you to look at their finances and to look at billing issues.So that part, I just had to learn when I opened my own office because you learn it hands on, like the first time I saw an EUB is the first time I learned how to deal with an EUB. I've never seen one before until I opened my own office and that's how I learned it.Michael: Yeah. Interesting. Okay. And then what were some of the non negotiables or the no nos that you mentioned? Lara: most of it were protocols. That I did not want to implement those. Emergency protocols. really learned it the hard way in one of the offices you never think that it's going to happen to you, but it might happen to you.And the worst thing is not to be prepared for it. So even subbing at those offices, I had it in my contract that I had to look at their emergency protocol before actually going into that office and making sure that. Their emergency kit is up to date and well stocked. Michael: Gotcha. So emergency protocols and you immediately implemented that into your absolutely now.Lara: Yes. Michael: Okay. And then what were some things that you watched that you said, I would never want to do this. I thought I did, but I would never want to do this with my team or my practice. Yeah. Lara: Honestly, oral sedations. my training program was very heavy on oral sedation. some of the practices wanted me to do.To sedation at a time and then sedation fell out of favor, but some offices still were heavily sedating kids some of the offices would advise you to use their protocol, which might be something that you're not trained to use, like Demerol. I was not trained to use Demerol. they had good record with Demerol. my stress level was much higher with sedations. And I knew that right there. And then when I wanted to open my own office, keep in mind that I opened my office after 10 years of practicing. So I've had a lot of experience experience and I saw a lot of things and I was okay doing sedation the way I learned how to do it.But once I started seeing how these sedations are and how little control you have after the sedation for monitoring, I decided that is something that I do not want to do in my office. Michael: So do you get a lot of parents who ask? Lara: Actually some parents don't really know the difference between nitrous, mild sedation, moderate and deep sedation.So there's a lot of people who don't know, so kind educating them. And I do refer some cases to other providers who do them. It's just I learned to be true to my comfort level and to listen to myself. If I'm not 100 percent comfortable with a procedure, I'm not doing it. And I learned that from, age and just stress levels.I don't want to be stressed for the rest of the day or for two days after my sedation. Michael: you ever feel Laura, like the ones that you feel super stressed or not comfortable, do you think okay, you know what, I'm gonna get there. I want to get there. I'm going to get some training. Or you're just like, Nope, that's just not how my practice runs.That's not how we are. Lara: After 10 years, I kind of learned, what really stresses me out. I just want to avoid it. let's say it's an advancement in pediatric dentistry, I definitely want to learn about it. So if it's something that we were not heavy on in my residency, I would want to learn about it.But sedation, I had, a lot of training on it. And we were super competent doing sedations. We did this every morning in our residency. So every morning we started with a sedation three days a week. So we're super, super comfortable doing the sedation. It's just my stress level was high after doing them that I decided I do not want this chronic stress, even if it's not super high stress, chronic low stress, I feel is very detrimental for your health, your mental health, your physical health, and for everybody around you. Michael: Yeah, no, a thousand percent. So then You worked at 21, that's a lot, 21 Lara: Sometimes it was just an afternoon.So it still counts, but it was just an afternoon. But it was quick in and out. It would be an emergency. They'll call me and can you come in this afternoon and I'll show up for the afternoon. Michael: Yeah. Interesting. Okay. So the 21 offices that you worked at, which were the things that you saw when it came to systems that they implemented?Were a good idea or were not a good idea, but it turned out to be fantastic to you in your eyes. Lara: Some of the systems that I thought were a great idea are system implemented by someone on site. There was that office manager that she ran this office.lovingly being respectful to everybody and in an emergency situation, you have the team leader, you have everybody knowing their roles, things just fell into place. And the day went by so well. Another thing is an office manager that was super tight with the owner, I feel like everybody liked that nonchalant, but nobody knew what they were doing. So instead of doing your job, a hundred percent, everybody was getting by, by doing 50 percent and people just getting confused, who does what and when should it be done? So I feel like these kind of situation I wanted to avoid.Michael: All the confusion and everything like that. So be more specific. Lara: Yeah. having like a role for everybody and a very well defined role. So these are your responsibility. And it's kind of hard sometimes when you're a startup, cause you really don't, know everything.And then you start making lists. And that's what I did. I started making lists and start as I go adding on to these lists of responsibilities, but it's so well defined that people have their boundaries and also like, this is what's expected of you and.this is the outcome that I want. So you can do everything that is expected of you, but not have the outcome that you want. That means maybe you didn't give them enough training on it, there's something that needs to be fixed within those boundaries that you've set.Michael: I like that. So then whenever you're making this list and you add new technology, new practice management software or something. Do you put it on there like, I expect you guys to get it, to know it, or do they sometimes say like, I don't like this practice management software, it's not working with us, Lara: some people express this pleasure with some things. It's just cause you're adding things on their plate. But I was very clear that I am learning with them. So as I learn more things, they need to keep up with me. And that's how we're a team. If I'm just learning, that means everything is falling on me.That's not teamwork. So as I learn and every CE that I go, I try to take at least one or two people with me, even though it will not be super beneficial for the dental assistant to come to a trauma. for me, it's just keeping that teamwork. If I learn something, I want them to learn with me.If I evolve, I want them to evolve with me. And that's how I think the best thing for a team is to evolve together. So we have actually blocked time on our schedule when you're a startup, you have a lot of time, but I do block time for us to go through pediatric dentistry articles and I have also blocked time to go through our software.everybody needs to know how to schedule an appointment, how to cancel an appointment, how to collect payment. Everyone in the office, no matter what their role is, everybody needs bare minimum. And then with our current software, we have a lot of evolution in it. And requests, so they keep adding stuff to the software and we block time to actually go through every additional feature, whether we use it or not, it's going to be determined later, but we all go through it together.Michael: I like that. And then the software you guys use is what right now Lara: is Oryx cloud based. Michael: Gotcha. Is there a reason why you guys went with cloud based? Lara: I think this is the future of everything having your software, your radiographs, everything in the palm of your hand, anywhere you go was just a non brainer for us and not having a server and depending on backing up those servers was just I feel like it's a dinosaur age to have anything that is not completely cloud based. Michael: Okay. I like that. So then any final pieces of advice that you would like to give to our listeners? Lara: If you're thinking about opening your own practice. Open it with the mindset of the future.if you're going to hire somebody, hire them thinking that they need to be open to all the newer technologies that you want to implement. Do not hire someone who's so attached to their previous, say software, or do not hire someone who's attached to their previous practices who are not open to learning new things. Most of my hires have no dental experience. And it worked out great for me. Michael: Wow. That's fantastic. If anyone had any questions or concerns, where can they reach out to you? Lara: They can reach out to me at my first name, Laura at Dr. Tooth Fairy, which is the name of my practice. Laura at drtoothfairy. com. Michael: Nice.Awesome. Laura, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it. And thank you for being with me on this Monday morning episode. Lara: Thank you for having me.‍

‍What does it take to successfully market a practice and bring in new patients in today's world? In this compelling episode I'm sitting down with, Karen Galley, the insightful co-owner and president of Patient News and Practice ZEBRA. With over 30 years of specialized experience in dental marketing, Karen takes us on a journey through the foundational elements of successful dental marketing strategies. She sheds light on the unique offerings of Practice ZEBRA, a versatile software product that enhances marketing efforts through comprehensive services like call tracking, scoring, and detailed KPIs for marketing success. Whether you are just starting out or looking to optimize your current marketing, Karen's vast knowledge provides a robust solution tailored precisely for dental practices.Throughout our conversation, Karen digs up the common marketing pitfalls that dental practices often encounter. Karen provides a magnifying glass into these errors, breaking them into three categories: strategic, operational, and executional. From the lack of clear differentiation in a practice's mission, to operational inefficiencies like poor call handling, each mistake is explored with an eye toward solutions and optimization. Karen's advice doesn't just stop at identifying problems though; she offers actionable strategies to improve your marketing approach by emphasizing consistent brand messaging, thorough market research, and effective budget allocation. This episode is an indispensable guide for dental professionals looking to enhance their marketing game.What You'll Learn in This Episode:How to identify and correct strategic, operational, and executional marketing mistakes in your practice.The unique features of Practice ZEBRA and how it can streamline your marketing efforts.The importance of understanding your practice's unique selling proposition.Advice for aligning marketing strategies with your practice's vision and goals.Tips for efficient resource and budget allocation in dental marketing.How to analyze marketing attribution and channel ROI to maximize returns.Insights into refreshing your online presence with modern web design and SEO practices.Let's transform your practice's marketing efforts with, Karen Galley, today!‍‍Sponsors:‍Oryx: an all-in-one cloud-based dental software created by dentists for dentists.Patient engagement, clinical, and practice management software that helps your dental practice grow without compromise. Visit Oryx today for a special TDM offer! (Just click or copy and paste the link here) https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/oryx/‍Guest: Karen GalleyBusiness Name: Patient NewsCheck out Karen's Media:Website: http://patientnews.com‍Other Mentions and Links:‍Software/Tools:Google AdsPractice ZEBRA‍Helpful Resources:Practice Growth Calculator‍Books:Understanding Dental Insurance: A Guide for Dentists and their Teams‍People:Dr. Shahin SafarianDr. Travis Campbell‍Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.

Mark Iannuzzi of TelNet Worldwide takes a fresh look at a long-term challenge, calls for changes “Our telecommunication policy that started in 1996 and how service providers interconnect their network was based upon TDM technology, but here we are in 2024 and we know that IP is the rule of the roost,” says Mark Iannuzzi, President of TelNet Worldwide. We need the FCC to step up and to update the regulations so that the carriers, in fact, do play by a new playbook for interconnecting their network on an IP basis. And if we do that, now you have an end-to-end system.” Recorded just before last month's Cloud Connections Conference, and just after a committee of the CCA met with the FCC, this podcast covers some of the stickier challenges of the STIR/SHAKEN era. Along with the benefits and steps forward of STIR/SHAKEN, Mark discusses how a legitimate organization with legitimate needs to call contacts, can be labeled spam, and not know it. Mark explores these problems along with a call for policy reforms and refresh. The CCA's Government Affairs Committee, which Mark discusses, is a key and core activity of the CCA, as the CCA works to retain communication by phone as a critical link for organizations and people. Visit www.telnetww.com

How essential IS understanding insurance contracts in the dental field? Join us in this Monday Morning Episode as Laura Radloff and I delve into this critical aspect of your dental practice. We underscore the necessity for dentists not just to skim but attentively read through the terms of contracts to sidestep potential pitfalls such as insurance fraud. Laura shares from her vast wealth of experience some common mistakes dental practices make and drives home the essentiality of proper billing practices.In the second half of our discourse, we explore the incredible advantages of utilizing Oryx software for billing purposes. We put a spotlight on the tremendous support provided by the Oryx team. The takeaway of this episode revamps the importance of thorough understanding and transparent communication in dealing with claims and operating a successful dental practice.What You'll Learn in This Episode:Why understanding insurance contracts is vital in the dental fieldThe common errors dental practices fall prey to and how to avoid themThe indispensable role of diligent billing practicesThe remarkable benefits of implementing Oryx software for your billingThe exceptional backing provided by the Oryx team in managing claimsDive into this episode now to learn what you may be missing in your insurance contracts!‍‍Sponsors:‍Oryx: an all-in-one cloud-based dental software created by dentists for dentists.Patient engagement, clinical, and practice management software that helps your dental practice grow without compromise. Visit Oryx today for a special TDM offer! (Just click or copy and paste the link here) https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/oryx/‍You can reach out to Laura Radloff here:‍Website: https://www.oryxdentalsoftware.com/‍Mentions and Links: Software/Tools:Open DentalEaglesoftDentrixDentrix AscendSoftDentDentrix EnterpriseiDentalBrands/Products:Invisalign‍If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)‍Michael: Hey, Laura. So talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning. Laura: So one piece of advice is. Really to make sure that you understand your contract with any, uh, your, any insurance company that you have chosen to contract with. There are a lot of rules that come with those contracts, and if you've chosen to be in network with a certain insurance company, they may have specific rules that you have to follow, such as you have to bill certain procedures out, even if they're not going to be covered.So you just want to make sure that you really understand your contract before you start committing insurance fraud. And it's little things like, You may have a certain procedure that's not covered by that insurance, and you may choose not to bill out that to that insurance company, because you've decided since it's not going to be covered, we're not going to bill it out anyway.But if your contract says that you should still be billing it out, you still need to make the insurance company aware that you did that procedure, even if you don't think you're going to get covered for it. Michael: Okay, no, that's interesting. That's interesting. And then. You said understand your contract. Are some contracts difficult to understand?Laura: They just vary. They vary a lot based on carrier and state. And especially once you start to get federal plans, it's more just making sure that you do read the fine print. Uh, some states say that you can't charge a patient if it's not covered. and some carriers say the same thing. So it's really just making sure you, You don't go outside of those lines and making sure that you are billing correctly, not only to your patient, but to the insurance company too.Michael: In your experience, Laura, like what is the most difficult company? I guess you feel like you've worked with when it comes to like, Oh my God, this is all in the contract. Are you serious? Kind of thing. Laura: I wish I could just say there's only one. I feel like every company is going to have their own quirks. and each one of them is going to have their own guidelines.I just ran across a policy the other day that said, if you try to bill out the buildup the same day as your crown, then it won't get covered. And they told you in the contract, you should bill out the buildup separately, um, on the prep date and then your crown on the seat date. Because they're already telling you it's not going to be covered, but it was so fine print and it was way deep in the contract.understanding that from the beginning, it's not very common that you would see that. So it's just making sure you understand you would hate to bill that out and then not get paid just because you billed it on the wrong day. Michael: Yeah. How often does that happen? I mean, so real quick, if you can let us know, you're with Oryx, right?their billing department or how does that work? Laura: Yeah, so I am with Oryx. I actually come from a lot of other software background where I've used a bunch of different softwares throughout my almost 20 years in the dental field. And Oryx is my favorite. So when I was working with Oryx, I reached out to Oryx and I told them how much I absolutely love their company and how much I would love to be a part of their company.So, now I am in, in charge of the outsourced billing department. So we actually helped newly converted offices with the conversion process. Um, and we allow additional trainings in regards to insurance. And billing. And then also we help with those services, especially for startups.They're not a hundred percent aware of all of the ins and outs of insurance. So we're able to help guide them at least through the beginning phases to make sure that they're off on the right start. Michael: Yeah. So then how often does that happen? Especially when it comes to, I guess, transitioning from a software to another software or like, where are you seeing the most common mistakes?Laura: The most common errors is, I would say, a sense of if it's not going to be covered, I don't have to bill it anyway, or trying to charge additionally due to a downgrade or a fee that may not be exactly what's needed. billable. I know sometimes ortho cases, if you're contracted with an insurance company for an ortho case, you have to go by their contracted rate, but Invisalign has a flat fee that they charge no matter how, you know, just to get the case going.So some offices have found that they want to try to charge that additional fee and some states and some insurance companies say too bad, it's all inclusive. Just because you picked Invisalign instead of brackets doesn't mean we're going to give you more money. So it's making sure that you understand that piece.the biggest thing that we run into is just thinking that we can step outside of those contract guidelines. and not necessarily defining it as fraud. It's still considered a form of fraud if you're withholding information, if you're falsifying the information, submitting under a different provider just because they have different network statuses.Things like that can all be considered forms of insurance fraud. So just being careful. Last thing you want is to go have huge fines, get your license revoked, or have your business shut down because of insurance fraud. Michael: Yeah. Have you seen that happen? Like where somebody really didn't read the fine print and it just went downhill from there?Laura: Yeah, unfortunately I haven't personally experienced it, but I've gone to continuing education courses where they've talked about the Somebody else, the business owner versus the dentist. And the business owner was doing billing out things a certain way. And then the owner, the business had to shut down.Michael: So then what would be the difference here? Laura, like if, if I were to say, okay, I have listened to this episode, I'm going to make sure my team reads the fine print compared to having like. Outsourcing it, your team, Oryx or you, right. I'm going to read the fine print. What would be the difference in those two?Laura: So there are a lot of credentialing companies that will help make sure that as you're getting credentialed, they can read that contract for you, so it's more just making sure that maybe whoever's helping you with your credentialing understands what your expectations are too, so that they don't sign you up for something that goes against the way that you want to run your business.personally, I've been in the dental field for 20 years, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I know all the ins and out of every insurance company too. Since it is so specific to state and carrier, it's really important that you understand it within, yourself versus even relying on someone else to do it for you, because then you're also holding yourself and your team accountable for what's happening in your office too.So as much as I would love to say, I'm a professional, I will read it for you and tell you all the things with my magic cape. at the end of the day, it's your license and it's your practice that's on the line. So making sure that whoever's doing your billing for you is doing it the way that aligns with your contract.And. How you want your business ran. Michael: Okay. Interesting. So then does this come with like, let's just say we decide to go with Oryx. Does it come with Oryx, this service or? The extra how does that work? Laura: It would be something if you have questions, we would definitely be able to review with you. We're more focused on making sure that you get paid.So we want to make sure that those claims, there's nothing holding them up from getting sent out that you've got all the necessary attachments documentation to be able to support the claim. And then we do catch some of those things like, Hey, I remember this insurance plan said you can't bill out the buildup and the crown on the same day.Do you still want to, because That's how you do it, or do you want to align with how the plan does it? So we do catch those things as the claims are going out, but it's more just making sure on the front end that you understand how that's coming in too. Michael: Yeah. That's so nice that Oryx does that, the claims, you know what I mean, for, for practice.I feel like it takes off a lot of the front office, I guess you can say like their time and you know what I mean. Laura: Oh yeah, it's huge because personally if I have a team member that I'm paying to be in office with me that's going to be patient facing, I want them to be patient facing, talk to them about their treatment plans, get them into the schedule.I don't need them hiding behind closed doors talking to insurance companies, but I also want to get paid. So making, putting that on someone else, especially someone who's versed in the software and has a lot of insurance experience, we've got phenomenal team that's all there to support and make sure that those claims are going out and getting paid.Michael: Yeah. Is it pretty difficult to learn for the team? Oryx? Laura: we offer a lot of support. It's not that it's difficult, honestly. Like I said, I I've worked with open dental, Dentrix, EagleSoft, SoftDent, Dentrix Ascend, Dentrix Enterprise, iDental, I've worked with a large number of dental softwares and I found it.Like with any software, there's definitely a learning curve, but once you really get into it, it has so many neat hidden features and neat things, and they're constantly evolving. I guarantee you, you tell Dentrix you want to change the way that they have something set up and they'll laugh at you. Oryx, we really try to consider how are our users using it and can we make it better as much as we can all the time.Michael: Yeah, that's so true. I see that in the Facebook group, like the Oryx users, Facebook group, like somebody will be like, Hey, Hey, Rania, can we do this or can we do that? And working on it. We'll implement it. You know what I mean? And they're on it. So Laura: yeah, we have developer meetings all the time. Like we're still as big as we are.We're still small, right? We're still connecting with each other regularly to make sure, Hey, this is something that our front end user saw that we might be able to improve. Is it something we can implement? if it's only one person that wanted it, then it may not be the top of our list, but being just vocal about things that we could possibly do to improve helps too.But I also think it's got a really strong base. So, while some people may see that there's areas to improve, it's got a lot of really great things already integrated into it. That helped me when I'm doing aging or when I'm doing the insurance stuff, this is my go to it's the fastest one to work out of.It's got the most detail. I find less errors once I'm using the software correctly. it's just phenomenal in my opinion Might be a little biased but Michael: No, that's awesome. And then what's one final piece of advice you can give us when it comes to claims and practice ownership Laura: Um, there's no such thing as too much information You'd much rather have 15 photos a big strong narrative and x rays right before the procedure versus later Finding out that you needed that x ray narrative or photo and not have it Michael: So there's never enough information.Interesting. Awesome. Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. But if anybody had questions or concerns or anything like that, where can they find you? Laura: If you're already an Oryx user, then you can put in a help ticket and they'll make sure that you're directed to the right department. I do specialize in billing and insurance, but we have a whole bunch of trainers that may be able to help with any other areas.And then if you're on our Facebook group too, you'll be able to keep posted on how often our webinars are happening and what topics are coming up, or put in suggestions for future, future requests or other webinars that you want to see. So. Michael: Nice. Awesome. So that's going to be in the show notes below.And Lauren, thank you so much for being with me on this Monday morning episode. Laura: Great to chat with you, Michael.

‍Have you stopped and asked yourself lately, "who am I becoming?" In this insightful podcast episode, our guest Rubi Rodriguez shares a profound piece of advice derived from Jim Rohn's, "The Art of Exceptional Living"—emphasizing personal growth over fleeting material gains. Engage in a riveting discussion with Rubi as she illustrates how focusing on personal evolution has not only helped her overcome entrepreneurial impediments but also modeled her into an astute leader and manager in the cutthroat startup arena.As she recounts her exciting journey at a nascent dental supply company, Rubi underscores the vital role of introspective growth while navigating hurdles—be it guaranteeing competitive pricing or ensuring timely deliveries. She charmingly elucidates how being mindful of her development amid high-stakes situations further refines her decision-making skills and leadership style. From discussing the operations of a budding dental supply firm to diving into the intricacies of "best price" versus "lowest price," you'll find this conversation packed with practical insights and actionable advice.What You'll Learn in This Episode:Practical tips on navigating business challenges through focusing on personal growthUnderstanding the difference between the "best price" and the "lowest price" in a competitive marketWays technology can be utilized to enhance pricing strategies and service improvementsHow focusing on personal growth can lead to better team management, technology integration, and financial decision-makingThe significance of continual learning and adaptability in becoming a great leader in any industryStay tuned, hit play, and learn how focusing on who you are becoming can lead to transformative success in your business and beyond!‍‍Sponsors:‍For high quality AND affordable dental supply options, visit The Dentists Supply Company(TDSC) website today! Our listeners get a special deal - 25% off on orders over $500 - Just type in the special code: TDM25 at checkout for your exclusive offer. AND if you're a member of your state's Dental Association, you may be eligible for additional savings upon providing your ADA number. Click or copy and paste the link here to save today! https://www.tdsc.com/‍You can reach out to Rubi Rodriguez here:Website: https://www.tdsc.com/Email: rubi.rodriguez@tdsc.com‍Mentions and Links: Books/Publications:The Art of Exceptional Living: Your Guide to Gaining Wealth, Enjoying Happiness, and Achieving Unstoppable Daily Progress‍If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)‍Michael: Hey, Rubi. So talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning? Rubi: Hi, Michael. Yeah, of course. Um, you know, thinking a piece of advice that I, I remind myself constantly when I feel overwhelmed or I feel like I'm being extremely challenged by something I'm going through.And it's from a book I read called the art of exceptional living from Jim Rohn. And the quote goes like, this is the greatest value in life is not what you get. It's who you become. And for me that's so important. And something to keep in mind as a leader and a people manager and, and being part of a startup business.as I am, as I, as I'm part of, sometimes we go through things that seem very challenging in the moment, and I'm sharing this advice because this quote makes me. Put things into perspective in the sense of I try to not think about what is this challenge? Giving me right in the sense of like, this is causing me a lot of trouble to do or this is like a painful learning curve.I'm going through. I try to think who am I becoming? Am I becoming a better person? Am I becoming a better leader? And when you put things into that perspective, it makes things seem better and it makes you be able to feel a bit of more comfort in the sense of this is an obstacle or something that I have to go through to become a better person or to become a better practice owner to become a better general manager.And that's the piece of advice that. You know, I wanted to share with everybody today and not only share it with you, but also remind myself, right, of how important that is, at least in my life and, and my philosophy in leading and managing people and myself. Michael: When do you find yourself? Reminding yourself of this more often.Rubi: I find myself from, you know, we, I go through challenges, right. From a work perspective, I'm part of a business, um, that is considered a startup or scale up business. I work at the dentist supply company and we have a mission of serving solo practitioners, dental practitioners. And we go through challenges that, you know, are we ensuring the right price and are we delivering on time for customers?And in some cases we aren't, and there's things on my control and there's things that are not on my control. And some of these challenges seem pretty overwhelming. And I find myself reminding. Myself of that quote, when I go through those challenges, right, I put myself in the shoes of who am I becoming and who am I serving to be able to feel more at ease with going through that process.That can feel very uncomfortable while you're going through it, but when you come, you know, when you surpass it or when that period is over, then just thinking of who have you become after it, it makes you kind of reflect on how it was worthwhile going through that challenging time. Michael: Hmm. So what are some of the most common challenges you've seen when it comes to supplies and with the clients you work with?Rubi: Yes. Um, so one of the most common challenges is always ensuring we have the right price for customers. That's something that we promise to do. That's something that we take very seriously in doing, and we are an eCommerce business and. every day prices change online, right? So how do we ensure that we have that best price?And we've recently implemented technology to be able to understand prices across the board and the internet with, you know, other e commerce players. And, that's a challenge that. We've had to go through, like, how do we make the best of this tool? How do we deliver to our customers on this in a way that's scalable?And we're growing through that, that program to ensure that we do provide that best price. Um, but it's, it's one of the things that, you know, that's been a work in progress, that it, it takes time and you have to remind yourself that although you want to, you know, get to the finish line tomorrow, it's not, you know, it's, it's a process and ensuring that.You consistently review having a competitive price that you can deliver to your customers is an everyday thing. Michael: I like that. So then to you, what's the difference between in supplies when it comes to supplies and a practice is ordering it. Looking for the best price and the lowest price. What's the difference between best price and lowest price?Rubi: Totally. That's a great question. So the best price, I think it's a combination from my perspective on the lowest price, the best delivery. Level, right? Getting it next day or, or in two business days based on your needs and ensuring that the product is in stock.I think those three elements in the e commerce environment and for dental practices, needing supplies is what should compose the best price because potentially it may not be the lowest, but it could be close enough. And you can ensure that you get the product next day or the day after. And. You also ensure that you know, the item is in top in stock, which helps with of course that delivery that delivery time.Um, so I would say a combination of those three things are what defines the best price Michael: Interesting. Okay. So then what has the dental supply company had to go through in order to become what they are? Uh, especially when it came to like struggles Coming up. Rubi: Yeah. So I would say the dentist supply company.We've gone through through that process of one ensuring that our inventory that is available to customers is accurately shown on the site. So we do have a vast Inventory a portfolio of products that are in stock and that ship next day. And one of the biggest obstacles is ensuring that, you know, that stock status is consistently updating and that customers can find those items that are in stock.and we have thousands of them. Although, you know, again, just ensuring that that is kept really much up to date, which is refreshed, um, consistently, um, multiple times a day. Is, you know, that's, that's what we do. Um, additionally, service level. So, you know, we're part of a larger organization called shine.We have access to some of the best delivery times that you have in the industry, we deliver next day in 24 hours. If your order is placed before 5 PM you know, on a business day and we deliver next day or the day after, um, you know, depending on where you are located in the country. contiguous United States.so I would say those things are, are part of what we do to ensure that we can have items in stock and then also, ensure that, that our delivery times are, best in class. Michael: That's awesome. So then I know a lot of people talk about price matching too. Does that play a role by any chance or no?Rubi: Yeah, I think that that comes back to what I was speaking to. Right. Like, how do we, we have tools in place to ensure that we're looking at, you know, a competitor prices. Now, you know, you always have to take a balance of things of going back to the best price. And it relates back again to not only having the lowest price and matching a competitor, but also, you know, some different players have different right.benefits, right, that they bring to the customer and, and the price should be a reflection of that, right? Of the value that you're getting, not necessarily just, the actual cost of what you're getting. Michael: Okay. So then going back to the quote, Rubi, and I'm sure you work with, do you speak a daily on the phone with a lot of practice owners?Rubi: do not, but my team does. Michael: Okay. Okay. So your team speaks daily on the phone with a lot of practice owners from what they've noticed and what you've noticed. How can a practice owner implement this quote inside their practice? Meaning what struggles are they going through that you feel like if you just keep going a little bit longer, going to mold you compared to.You know what I mean? Giving up. And then, uh, this is what I thought I was going to get, but it's about who you're becoming. Rubi: so I can think about it. Um, let's say in, three ways, three aspects, right. For a practice owner. One of the things that a practice owner. You know, practice owner wears so many hats, so it can apply on many, things.I think one on people, right. We rely on people and on our team to deliver the best service levels that patients want. so as we think about applying that. working with people comes with its challenges, right? We have emotions, we have different styles of wanting to communicate, and we have different needs, right?We're humans, we have families. So, you know, working with people is sometimes one of the most challenging things a business owner and potentially a practice owner goes through. And keeping in mind, just addressing situations with. With your team with that mindset of who am I becoming here?Am I becoming a better leader, a better manager for my team while going through this difficult situation with an employee? You know, maybe we had a situation amongst employees that we need to resolve or, a situation between an employee and a patient, So that's one hat or one place that I can see, you know, practice when we're applying this type of.Quote or this type of advice. The second one is on managing technology, right? Technology is moving at such a fast pace, not only from a practice marketing side, right? With how patients want to communicated to with a text. And, you know, and I am sure you speak to this to your audience, right? With the dental marketer, like all the technology that goes today marketing and communicating with patients in a practice.seem pretty overwhelming. So just thinking about who you're becoming and who your practice is becoming by going through the learning curve of implementing new technology, to address patients. And then there's the clinical side, right? Of all the technology that is coming out for practices to implement with the digital workflow, et cetera.So, know, I think they are thinking. Again, on who you're becoming and who your practice is becoming is so important because, again, it can seem overwhelming, and I think, the third aspect is managing the financials, right, that overhead, we're talking about supplies, just thinking about, You know, how do you balance having the right supplier or a right mix of suppliers so that you don't, you never run out but then you balance the inventory, right, the cost that you have on your shelf so you know it's another fine balance of how do you, how do you ensure that you learn enough and that you.price shopping off or evaluate the value that the different suppliers are bringing to your practice, you know, again, can seem like overwhelming and, I think it's thinking about who you're becoming. Are you becoming a better financial manager? Are you becoming a better business manager and leader by thinking about those things that could seem pretty challenging and overwhelming when you're going through it?Michael: Wonderful, Rubi. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. And if anyone has further questions, where can they reach out to you directly? Rubi: Absolutely. They can reach out to me at Rubi. R U B I dot Rodriguez R O D R I G U E Z at T D S C. I'm happy to answer any questions or even chat about about this or other things.I also want to mention, Michael, that we have a special offer for your audience. we have a 25 percent off all orders over 500 on TDSC. Again, the dentist's office. Supply company. You can find us at tdsc. com. We sell dental supplies and small equipment to Uh small practices and we provide additional savings for members of state dental association So if you provide your ada number, you can also enjoy additional savings from our everyday prices So Thank you for the opportunity.The code for that offer is TDM 25. and I look forward to, uh, to chatting with you in the future, Michael. Michael: Thank you for having me. So remember that is TDM 25. If you want to receive that amazing offer and Rubi, thank you so much for being with us on this Monday morning episode. My Rubi: pleasure.

Darcy Varney Kitching with Boulder Transportation Connections is back on the pod to talk about her new role in transportation demand management (TDM), share her personal experiences from her week without driving challenge, and reflect on her recent Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and subscribe to the Podcast on your preferred listening platform, and don't forget to check out and subscribe to the Active Towns Channel for more content.Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):- Boulder Transportation Connections- Week Without Driving– America Walks- Disability Mobility Initiative - Streetwise Boulder- Denver Streets Partnership - Jonathan Stalls Walk to Connect and Intrinsic Paths - The Street Project Film - My Episode with the Film's Director, Jennifer Boyd - Darcy's e-Cargo Bike - Tern HSD - Boulder County Mobility for All - Community Cycles - Camino de SantiagoIf you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:1. Join our Patreon community. Contributions start at just $1 per month(Note: Patron benefits include early, ad-free access to content and a 15% discount in the Active Towns Merch Store)2. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"3. Pick up some Active Towns #StreetsAreForPeople Merch at my storeCredits:- Video and audio production by John Simmerman- Music via Epidemic SoundResources used during the production of this video:- My recording platform is Ecamm Live- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite- Equipment: Contact me for a complete listFor more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:- Active Towns Website- Active Towns on Twitter- Periodic e-NewsletterBackground:Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I'm a health promotion and public health professional with over 30 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.Since 2010,  I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."The Active Towns Channel features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2024 ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Episode 116 of the This and Much More Podcast features David of Them Damn Mexicans! We talk about how he came up with TDM, running a podcast, dos and don'ts of a podcast, the music scene in Houston and Texas, funny stories and more! Hope you guys enjoy the episode! David TDM https://instagram.com/themdamnmexicans https://instagram.com/tdmtalk Studio 1017 https://instagram.com/Studio10.17 https://tiktok.com/@studio10.17 ----- Evelin Vogues https://instagram.com/EvelinVogues https://tiktok.com/@evelinvogues Ella Y Mas https://instagram.com/EllayMas https://www.EllayMas.com ----- Rollie Vogues https://instagram.com/RollieVogues https://tiktok.com/@RollieVogues Vogues Studios https://instagram.com/VoguesStudios https://VoguesStudios.com Essen Rugs https://instagram.com/EssenRugs Superior Style https://instagram.com/SuperiorHTX https://www.SuperiorHTX.com Marvelous Club Vintage https://instagram.com/MarvelousClubVintage https://depop.com/MarvelousClubVintage https://whatnot.com/MarvelousClubVintage ----- Alondra https://instagram.com/yunno.fades ----- Robbie Robs https://instagram.com/robbie_robs_ https://instagram.com/robbierobshow ----- Ronnie https://instagram.com/celrani_ ----- Subscribe, like, and comment. We appreciate all the support and love and can't wait to bring you this and much more content! Intro / Outro: https://instagram.com/knightyouafool --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/studio1017/support

Lydie est plus qu'une globe-trotteuse c'est une avencurieuse dans l'âme ! Elle a la bougeotte depuis toujours et profite de chaque temps libre pour partir en voyage avec Eric, son mari et leurs ados, Nathan 16 ans et Clara 14 ans. Après un TDM en 2019, ils changent de rythme et privilégient depuis le temps passé ensemble à la course pour en voir toujours plus. L'été dernier, ils ont passé 5 semaines aux Philippines entre les plus beaux sites de plongée et visites terrestres : après Siargao & Camiguin à l'est du pays, ils ont rejoint l'archipel de Palawan où ils ont découvert El Nido et Coron, puis celui des Visayas avec les îles de Bohol, Siquijor, Negros et Cebu. Allez, c'est parti pour le carnet de voyage de Lydie aux Philippines !******************************************************************************************************************************Retrouvez Lydie instagram : @les4envoyage******************************************************************************************************************************✅ Mon blog Famille & Voyages https://familleetvoyages.com✅ Et si tu me taguais sur un de ces réseaux

Drs. Hope Rugo and Sara Tolaney discuss the promise of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in the treatment of breast cancer, highlighting key trials that shed light on matching the right ADC to the right patient in the right setting. They also explore how combinations and sequencing of ADCs can augment their efficacy, the mechanisms of resistance, and the future potential of biomarkers to predict patient response. TRANSCRIPT Dr. Hope Rugo: Hello, I'm Dr. Hope Rugo, your guest host of the ASCO Daily News Podcast today. I'm a professor of medicine and director of breast oncology and clinical trials education at the University of California, San Francisco's Comprehensive Cancer Center. Antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, are rapidly changing the treatment landscape for patients with breast cancer. ADCs consist of antibodies that target tumor-specific antigens on the cell surface, chemical linkers, and cytotoxic payloads that can act powerfully to kill cancer cells. On today's episode, we'll be discussing advances in research to match the right ADC to the right patients and in the right setting. We'll also talk about the next steps, assessing how combinations and sequencing of ADCs can augment their efficacy, improve options for patients, and identify biomarkers in the future to predict how patients will respond so that we can match the right treatment to the right patient and their tumor. We need to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of resistance that occur upfront as well as under the pressure of treatment.  Joining me for this important discussion is Dr. Sara Tolaney. Dr. Tolaney is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, associate director of the Susan Smith Center for Women's Cancer, and chief of the Division of Breast Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.  You'll find our full disclosures in the transcript of this episode and disclosures of all guests on the podcast are available at asco.org/DNpod. Dr. Tolaney, we're delighted to have you on the podcast today. Thanks for being here. Dr. Sara Tolaney: Thank you so much for having me. I'm looking forward to the discussion. Dr. Hope Rugo: Great! So, we'll move forward, and because we're friends and colleagues, I'm going to refer to you as Sara, and I'm Hope, since we'll dispense with formalities in our discussion.  A lot of the talks that we give about ADCs start out with “a revolution in breast cancer therapy.” And indeed, this is a really exciting time with ADCs as treatment for breast cancer, and we're rapidly moving these agents into earlier disease settings. Can you tell us a little bit about the possibilities and challenges of using ADCs for the treatment of breast cancer today? Dr. Sara Tolaney: It's interesting that you say antibody-drug conjugates as revolutionizing outcomes of breast cancer, which I think is true. But on the flip side, I think it's also bringing up a lot of questions about how to use them, when to use them, and how to manage side effects. So there are a lot of good strengths for these antibody-drug conjugates, but a lot of unknowns that we're still trying to figure out. We had an older antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 that we were all very familiar with that for years had been a treatment that we used very commonly in metastatic disease and now even use in early breast cancer, and I think has changed outcomes for patients. But over time, we've been able to develop newer antibody-drug conjugates as the technology has really evolved so that these agents now are able to deliver a lot of chemotherapy into a cancer cell. We're seeing very high drug-to-antibody ratios, and we're also seeing that these drugs can function via bystander effect, whereas T-DM1, for example, was not able to do that. But our newer ADCs, like sacituzumab govitecan or trastuzumab deruxtecan, are agents that do allow chemotherapy to get into that cancer cell, but also to get into neighboring cells.  And I think the technology evolution in being able to build these so-called next-generation ADCs has allowed for really unprecedented efficacy that we've not seen before. And it's also allowed us to develop these drugs in a way that's been different. Originally, we were developing T-DM1 to turn off HER2 signaling and to deliver chemotherapy into a HER2 cell. At least that's what we thought originally. And now we're really evolving so that we can just find a tiny bit of protein on a cancer cell and use it as a target, really in a subtype-agnostic way. And I think it's just a different way of thinking about how to use these agents to really deliver a lot of chemotherapy into cancer cells and have very robust efficacy. Dr. Hope Rugo: Yes, it is fascinating that some of the suppositions that we made with the first ADC don't seem to really hold true as well. And maybe they hold true in varying levels for the different ADCs. For example, this bystander effect is thought to allow us to target cells that have very low expression of the receptor that can be internalized even lower than our ability to detect these receptors by immunohistochemistry. And maybe we'll talk about that in a little bit.   But first, you mentioned already sacituzumab and trastuzumab deruxtecan, the ADCs that are currently approved for breast cancer. But can you tell us a little more about those ADCs and the key trials that have led to approval of these targeted agents? Dr. Sara Tolaney: Yes, I think when we first saw the data that came out with T-DXd and DESTINY-Breast01, I think my jaw dropped because I had never seen a waterfall plot like that. This was a single-arm study that looked at T-DXd in patients with very heavily pretreated metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer and saw very high response rates of over 60% and a clinical benefit rate of almost 98%, meaning that almost every single patient who got the drug and had a median of six prior lines of therapy had reduction in tumor size. And that's unreal. I think it was revolutionary in the sense that we had never seen that kind of activity in such a pretreated population. The agent was studied in other registration trials, DESTINY-Breast03, which looked at T-DXd and compared it head to head with T-DM1 in a predominantly second-line metastatic HER2-positive population, and here, again, unprecedented results. I've never seen a p value like that or a hazard ratio of, again unreal, of a little under 0.3 and seeing a 28-month PFS with T-DXd relative to just a little under 7 months PFS with T-DM1. We have never seen patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer have a PFS that long. Even in CLEOPATRA, it's a little under 19 months in the first-line setting, where people were predominantly naïve to HER2-directed therapies. This, again, is really changing outcomes for patients.   But then, I think, when we go to the next step, we studied T-DXd in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and it had again these unprecedented results. But there was some early data suggesting that it could even work in tumors that weren't truly HER2-positive but what we call HER2-low, meaning that they weren't HER2/3+, they weren't HER2-0 but they were 1+ to 2+ and not FISH amplified. And so even with a little bit of protein there, they were seeing activity in the early phase studies and so it led to DESTINY-Breast04, which compared T-DXd to chemotherapy of physician's choice in people who had had one or two prior lines of chemotherapy in the metastatic setting. It was predominantly geared to look at outcomes in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. But there was a small group of 58 patients with triple-negative disease that were also included in that trial. And here again, a very unprecedented outcome seeing a response rate of about 50%, which, again, we never see in pretreated hormone receptor-positive disease. And a PFS of 10 months, and again, these are people who already had one or two prior lines of chemotherapy. So it's, again, really changing outcomes. And so now I think it leads us to a lot of other questions that we are addressing in trials - can this drug work even if the tumor has maybe no HER2 expression, what about HER2-0, what about HER2-ultra low, meaning a little bit of staining but not quite 1+. And so these are questions that I think we will need to address and there are studies that will help us address that. On the flip side, we saw sacituzumab govitecan get developed in breast cancer. Initially, we saw very impressive results from a single arm study of sacituzumab in metastatic triple-negative disease where we saw response rates of a little over 30%. These are patients who were very heavily pretreated with metastatic triple negative breast cancer where, unfortunately, response rates end up being in a 5% range so it was a home run in that setting. So that led to the ASCENT trial, which compared sacituzumab govitecan to treatment of physician's choice therapy and that study really enrolled people who were, in essence, second line and beyond in the metastatic triple-negative setting and showed almost triple progression free survival, in essence, doubled overall survival. So again, very robust efficacy leading to confirming its approval. And then we saw data from TROPiCS-02, which looked at sacituzumab in metastatic hormone receptor-positive disease and also showed improvements in both progression free and overall survival. And this was in pre-treated populations of 2 to 4 prior lines of chemotherapy. These agents, again, have established robust efficacy, and so now the idea is can we move these drugs earlier in development into earlier line settings and can we even move these agents into the early disease setting and potentially cure more patients? So hopefully, we'll figure out ways to make that happen. Dr. Hope Rugo: Yeah, that was a great summary of this exciting data. And I think we really got an idea of what waterfall plots could tell us from DESTINY-Breast01 where you could count the number of patients whose cancers grew with therapy on one hand. It's been a huge advance. I think it's where we get this “revolution” even in patients with a median of 4 lines of prior chemo, and, in the ASCENT trial, we were able to see this improvement and survival in the hardest-treated subset of metastatic breast cancer triple negative disease. And then the remarkable data in HER2-positive and HER2-low breast cancer hormone receptor positive disease. We're really covering all of the subset of breast cancers.   When we introduce new therapies though, and of course, our interest is moving them earlier as lines of therapy in the metastatic setting, we really have to think about the adverse events and how those are going to affect their patients, and balancing the risk benefit ratio. Obviously when the benefit is so huge, we're more thinking about how do we proactively manage these side effects, educate our patients, use prophylaxis when possible. Can you share with us some of your insights on management strategies for toxicities?  Dr. Sara Tolaney: You bring up a very good point, and I will say the ADCs were designed with the idea being that we could deliver a ton of chemotherapy into a cancer cell. So obviously, my hope had been that we weren't going to see a lot of chemotherapy-like side effects because the goal was to try to spare normal cells of these side effects. But unfortunately, we do see that these agents do have real toxicities, and I think that is an important message. So, for example, with sacituzumab, for people who have hair going into it, they will lose their hair during the course of treatment, and so that's important to make patients aware of. It can lower blood counts, and about 50% of patients who are on sacituzumab will end up needing growth factor support while they're on treatment. So, that is again something that needs to be monitored and managed. But usually, we're pretty good at managing neutropenia, and with the growth factor support, I find that it actually works really well.  Another thing with sacituzumab is the potential risk of diarrhea, but most of the diarrhea is low-grade diarrhea. It's rare that you get someone who has high-grade diarrhea with sacituzumab. Usually, I find it works to just instruct patients to use loperamide as needed. And again, usually that works well. And certainly when needed, dose modification can also help with these side effects and so it is important to keep in mind that this is another option. With T-DXd, one thing that we do have to keep in mind as an unusual side effect is the potential risk of interstitial lung disease. We see that in about 10% to 15% of patients getting T-DXd. That is something that we do have to be very mindful of. For the most part it is low-grade ILD. But there are rare occasions where there have been deaths from ILD. And we're seeing with some of the newer trials, the death rate is usually under 1%, but it is a real potential risk. And so it is really important to counsel patients when getting T-DXd about this potential side effect, that way they are good about communicating with you if they get any new symptoms, such as shortness of breath or dry cough, to get you aware of it and can work it up and get imaging certainly if that occurs.  And then I think the management for ILD is a little unique and a little different truthfully than the way we manage pneumonitis from other drugs. Normally, when I am treating patients who develop pneumonitis, even if it is mildly symptomatic, we often will hold treatment, give steroids, and rechallenge them when it gets better. But with T-DXd, if anyone develops symptomatic pneumonitis, you actually have to permanently discontinue the T-DXd per the guidelines because we just don't know the safety of being able to rechallenge that patient once that pneumonitis resolves. For grade 1 ILD, meaning someone who has, for example, ground glass changes seen on imaging but doesn't have any symptoms, you have to hold the drug and wait until those imaging findings resolve and then you can restart. I usually do treat grade 1 ILD patients with steroids with the hope being that maybe it will allow for the pneumonitis to resolve more quickly, although in truth I don't know if that's the case. I have just taken that approach because I don't like leaving patients off the drug for too long if not needed. Again, I typically treat them with steroids, reimage in three to four weeks, and see if I'm able to restart. If they resolve within 28 days, you can restart at the same dose. If it takes longer to resolve, you need to dose modify.  And then I think the other big thing with T-DXd is to know that it is categorized as a highly emetogenic agent. Most of us are using three-drug prophylaxis, which I think works really well. It is also important to realize that there can be some delayed nausea, which is a little unusual with some of our other agents. And so to warn patients about that and I find that use of olanzapine or ondansetron for the delayed nausea tends to work pretty well.  Hope, do you have any pearls for us? Obviously, you are very experienced in using these agents; are there any things you would recommend for the management of ADCs?  Dr. Hope Rugo: Yes, it's such a great question and an important area because, particularly as we are using these agents earlier, we really need to have strategies for both how long to continue as well as manage the toxicities. I agree with the nausea, olanzapine has been really a great addition, and using a triplet as initial premedication makes a big difference for T-DXd and other deruxtecan ADCs that are in the pipeline. And then I think that the ILD issue, we're really learning more about the risk factors as well as retreatment. And hopefully, we'll have more data this year at ESMO Breast and maybe ASCO on retreatment for grade 1. We certainly now do not have any data on the safety of retreatment for grade 2, so that is really not accepted now. For sacituzumab, I think the interesting area is the metabolism and the impact. So with neutropenia, as we move the drug earlier, it's easier and easier to manage, we see less severe neutropenia. We can give growth factors, which we are all good at in oncology. But I think the question about managing diarrhea and who is at risk still exists. Understanding pharmacogenomics and UGT1A1 is an interesting area where patients who have diarrhea could be tested to see if they are poor metabolizers which affects a little under 10% of the overall population. Because in that group, you could give less drug and get the same benefit with less toxicity. So I think this is all very interesting. It is important for providers and patients to be educated so that we can manage this appropriately. And I think you gave an excellent overview.   We have new agents in the pipeline also and maybe we'll talk about those next, and then we'll talk a little bit about sequencing and resistance, as well as the unmet need for brain metastases. So lots of areas to talk about. There are a number of TROP-2 ADCs that are in the pipeline, and one that has presented phase III data, datopotamab deruxtecan. But other studies are being developed with new TROP-2 ADCs as well. But then there are a huge number of ADCs there with new targets, for example, immune effector targets, and new payloads, even immunotherapy and two different payloads or bispecific antibodies. And then there is interest in combining ADCs with immunotherapy and PARP inhibitors. We saw data in bladder cancer, I think it was bladder cancer, with combined 2 different ADCs at ESMO in 2023. So a lot of new approaches. How are we going to manage this moving forward? And where do you think we are going to position some of these next sort of "me-too" drugs?  Dr. Sara Tolaney: It's an excellent question, and you're right, the field is exploding with new antibody- drug conjugates. So, it's going to leave us with this conundrum of what to do. And you brought up the really interesting example of the fact that we have an approved TROP-2 ADC, we have as sacituzumab govitecan, and for example, we've recently seen some really exciting data come out from TROPION-Breast01 looking at another TROP-2 ADC, datopotamab deruxtecan or Dato-DXd where that ADC performed better than chemotherapy in a head-to-head trial in terms of progression-free survival in a hormone receptor-positive population. Then there's another TROP-2 ADC, moving forward in development moving to phase III that Merck is developing MK-2870. All three of these ADCs are targeting TROP-2 and have a TOPO 1 payload. So, it leaves you with the question of how do you think about that? Is there going to be a role for using serial TROP-2 ADCs? Could one work after the other, even when they have very similar payloads? How are we going to incorporate them? How do you pick one over the other? So, it is going to be tricky for us as we get more and more of these agents. I think we're all excited about seeing ADCs that may have different targets and different payloads, where maybe we will see that sequential utilization will have robust efficacy if we swap things out. Again, we don't have data here yet, but I think there are other agents in development. For example, you could think of like, disitamab vedotin targets HER2 and has an MMAE payload. So, could it be that someone progresses on T-DXd for HER2-low, but then could go on to disitamab vedotin? How will that work? So, we have a lot to learn, but it's really nice to have so many options.  Dr. Hope Rugo: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see whether or not we select the ADC based on a rational understanding of the tumor and the patient, or whether it's simply what's easier to give and has the right toxicity for that patient.  So, that sort of brings us to our next topic, which is how are we going to sequence these agents? How are we going to understand the mechanisms of ADC resistance? At San Antonio in 2023, we saw a presentation where there was a top-alteration, and the patient had a really long response to a top-directed ADC, or an agent that carried a topoisomerase inhibitor. And that really struck me that we're going to see these alterations. There was a fresh autopsy study that suggested that the alterations may be different in different organ sites of disease. How are we going to figure this out? Dr. Sara Tolaney: Yeah, I also was really puzzled to see those data from San Antonio where we've sort of simplified ADC resistance in our heads to say, well, maybe someone becomes resistant because they lose target expression, or maybe someone becomes resistant because they've developed resistance to the payload, kind of like the way we think of someone developing resistance to getting chemotherapy. But obviously, it's probably far more complex than that. With these ADCs, they need to be able to internalize the ADC and could there be mechanisms of resistance related to the internalization process? So, I think there are lots of potential areas where resistance could be occurring. I think, we don't understand it very well. We've seen patients, for example, who have responded. This is just anecdotal, but we have data, for example looking at, Dato-DXd in the phase 1 triple-negative study where there were some patients who responded despite having progressed on sacituzumab. Well, why is that? You would think if it's target resistance or payload resistance, it would be the same target and a very similar payload. So, why would those drugs work one after the other? And that's why I think we just don't understand this well enough at this point in time.   So, it's clearly an area where more research is needed because it does have significant implications on how we think about using these drugs sequentially. We will need to understand these resistance mechanisms because there do seem to be some rare patients who benefit from these sequencing strategies and then others who don't. So, it would be nice to be able to figure this out and hopefully in the future, we'll be able to test patients and know what drugs to give them. But I think we're far off from that, unfortunately, right now. Dr. Hope Rugo: Yeah, it does seem to be a relatively elusive approach, and I think, in part, it's due to the heterogeneity of cancer. And maybe, as we're better and better at analyzing tumor cells in the blood, which are a rare group, and ctDNA, which, of course, we do now to look for mutations, maybe that'll be an approach that we'll be able to take. And also, of course, moving the drugs earlier into the disease setting with less heterogeneity and mechanisms of resistance might help as well.  I was fascinated by the fact that although the PFS to the first ADC seems to be overall much greater than the PFS to the second ADC, when you sequence them, there are a few patients who have a longer PFS with the second, even if these are just sacituzumab T-DXd sequencing in various directions. So, it's clearly very complex. And right now, I think we're just sequencing and we don't really know how to do it. We just choose what we think is best for that patient first and go on to the next one later, which is interesting. And one of the choices might be treating brain metastases, which of course remains a huge unmet need. And if we could find effective treatment for brain metastases, maybe we could also prevent them in some patients more. What do we know about the central nervous system (CNS) penetration of ADCs and the clinical results? Dr. Sara Tolaney: At first, we were not optimistic that these drugs would have activity in the brain because we thought that these were very large agents that probably couldn't penetrate into the blood-brain barrier. But in fact, I think we were all very excited to see that there is actually data suggesting that these drugs can actually have robust efficacy in the CNS in patients who have active brain metastases. And so what we've seen so far is data with trastuzumab deruxtecan or T-DXd, there have been some trials that have been done, including studies like DEBRA and TUXEDO, which have looked at T-DXd in patients who have active brain metastases and are showing very robust response rates within the CNS. So, we're seeing intracranial response rates on the order of 40% to 50%. And clinically, this is what we're seeing as well. These are smaller studies and there's a larger trial, DESTINY-Breast12, which will hopefully validate the robust efficacy in the CNS with T-DXd. So, again, it's really nice to see this.  To your point, though, one area that I'm curious about, as you were alluding to, is will these drugs be able to prevent CNS disease? And I think that is a very different question because here the blood-brain barrier is not intact when patients have progressive brain metastases, and so these ADCs are causing robust activity. But if you look, for example, and I'll be curious to see what happens, DESTINY-Breast05 is looking at T-DXd in the post preoperative setting for patients who have residual disease and comparing it to T-DM1. And unfortunately, we saw that T-DM1 was not able to prevent brain metastases when looking at data from KATHERINE, where in fact, rates of CNS as the first site of recurrence were similar with T-DM1 and trastuzumab. So, now we'll be interested to see, will it be any different with T-DXd? Will T-DXd be able to have any role in prevention? I think we haven't seen anything like that with ADCs to date, so that would be a paradigm shift in our way of thinking.  Right now, there are strategies being taken from a prevention standpoint of trying to add a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in that early-stage setting, such as what is being done in the COMPASS-RD trying to add tucatinib to T-DM1 to see if that would do it. But again, we really need to understand, again, how these drugs work, particularly when the blood-brain barrier may not be intact. But again, very exciting data with T-DXd in an ongoing trial, actually through SWOG looking at sacituzumab for patients with CNS disease. And we've seen some preliminary data with sacituzumab showing that it actually does penetrate into the brain when they've looked at drug levels in the tumor in the brain, comparing it to plasma, it actually looks similar. So, we know it's getting in there and we'll have more robust efficacy data, hopefully coming soon. Dr. Hope Rugo: Yeah, that was a great summary of that data. It's been exciting also to see some responses in patients with leptomeningeal disease as well, where we've really been struggling with anything that works for more than a few weeks or months at the most. So I'm holding out great hope that we're going to see a big difference because even though TDM-1 had some efficacy, it was nothing like what we're seeing with T-DXd. So we'll see. And the same with sacituzumab with triple negative disease, where sometimes brain metastases can be an isolated site of recurrence, even in patients who have a pathologic complete response. So it has been a big challenge.  So I think that what we've learned from you is a lot about the mechanisms and the data about these new ADCs, the tremendous hope that these are bringing to our patients, but also the really exciting new approaches with new payloads, new targets of drugs that are in development, as well as potentially some different ADCs that have the same target and similar mechanisms of action of this payload. Really fascinating to hear about this, the future work on sequencing, on mechanisms of resistance, and on brain metastases. We have, of course, 2 prospective trials that we'll be looking at sequencing, one with T-DXd and Dato-DXd, and one registry trial with T-DXd and sacituzumab govitecan in the US. So that's also going to, I think, provide us with some important information.  We could talk for a long time about this, but I just wonder if you have any closing comments to sum up your thoughts.  Dr. Sara Tolaney: I think you did a great job leading us through thinking about ADCs, and I think it'll be really interesting to see what happens in the future. While again, these agents have become a standard for us for patients with metastatic disease, I'm going to be curious to see how everything evolves and to see if we'll be able to substitute chemotherapy with ADCs in early disease settings and change outcomes. Will we be able to have novel combinations? Will we be able to sequence these drugs one after another? Will we actually have biomarker predictors to help us sort out which drug to give when? So, still a lot to learn, but clearly a very exciting field right now. Dr. Hope Rugo: Indeed. Sara, thank you for sharing your valuable insights with us today on the ASCO Daily News Podcast on your great work to develop novel therapies for breast cancer. It's always a pleasure to talk to you, and even greater to work with you on the future progress of treatment for breast cancer. Dr. Sara Tolaney: Thank you so much, Hope. Again, really nice to always discuss these data with you. I always learn a lot, so thank you. Dr. Hope Rugo: Thank you. And thank you to our listeners for joining us today. You'll find a link to all of the studies discussed today in the transcript of this episode. Finally, if you value the insights that you hear on the ASCO Daily News Podcast, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of a product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.   Follow today's speakers:   Dr. Hope Rugo  @hoperugo  Dr. Sara Tolaney @stolaney1     Follow ASCO on social media:   @ASCO on Twitter    ASCO on Facebook    ASCO on LinkedIn      Disclosures:   Dr. Hope Rugo:  Consulting or Advisory Role: Napo Pharmaceuticals, Puma Biotechnology, Mylan, Eisai, Daiichi Sankyo Research Funding (Inst.): OBI Pharma, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Genentech, Merck, Daiichi Sankyo, Sermonix Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Gilead Sciences, Astellas Pharma, Talho Oncology, Veru, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann-LaRoche AG/Genentech, Inc, Stemline Therapeutics Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Merck, AstraZeneca   Dr. Sara Tolaney: Consulting or Advisory Role: Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, Genentech, Eisai, Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Seattle Genetics, CytomX Therapeutics, Daiichi Sankyo, Immunomedics/Gilead, BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, OncXerna Therapeutics, Zymeworks, Zentalis, Blueprint Medicines, Reveal Genomics, ARC Therapeutics, Umoja Biopharma, Menarini/Stemline, Aadi Bio, Artio Biopharmaceuticals, Incyte Corp, Zetagen, Bayer, Infinity Therapeutics, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Natera, Tango Therapeutics, Systimmune, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Hengrui Pharmaceutical (USA), Sumitovant Biopharma Research Funding (Inst.): Genentech/Roche, Merck, Exelixis, Pfizer, Lilly, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, AstraZeneca, NanoString Technologies, Seattle Genetics, OncoPep, Gilead Travel, Accommodations, Expenses: Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Gilead Sciences

This episode is a feature in our CEQA Series; our host Konnie Dobreva speaks with guests Tim Haile, Executive Director at Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and Meghan Macias, Director of Technical Services at EPD Solutions  Konnie, Meghan, and Tim discuss the impacts of SB 743 on VMT mitigation and TDM programs designed to reduce emissions, urban sprawl and promote use of alternative transportation.  Tim Haile, an award-winning transportation expert, emphasizes the importance of innovative transit programs and the need for sustainable, equitable, and accessible transportation solutions. He discusses his leadership in connected and autonomous vehicles, including the deployment of shared autonomous vehicles in the Bay Area.  Meghan Macias brings over two decades of experience in transportation planning to the conversation. She leads a team focused on comprehensive technical analyses for land development projects across California. Meghan's expertise includes traffic engineering and a deep understanding CEQA.  Join Tim, Meghan, and Konnie as they discuss challenges and strategies surrounding VMT mitigation and its impact on transportation planning and development in California.

WAVES director of training and development Michael Pearson Adams (Gomez to his Aussie mates) joins us in part 2 of a chat about plugins for Voice Actors.  A big shout out to our sponsors, Austrian Audio and Tri Booth. Both these companies are providers of QUALITY Audio Gear (we wouldn't partner with them unless they were), so please, if you're in the market for some new kit, do us a solid and check out their products, and be sure to tell em "Robbo, George, Robert, and AP sent you"... As a part of their generous support of our show, Tri Booth is offering $200 off a brand-new booth when you use the code TRIPAP200. So get onto their website now and secure your new booth... https://tribooth.com/ And if you're in the market for a new Mic or killer pair of headphones, check out Austrian Audio. They've got a great range of top-shelf gear.. https://austrian.audio/ We have launched a Patreon page in the hopes of being able to pay someone to help us get the show to more people and in turn help them with the same info we're sharing with you. If you aren't familiar with Patreon, it's an easy way for those interested in our show to get exclusive content and updates before anyone else, along with a whole bunch of other "perks" just by contributing as little as $1 per month. Find out more here..   https://www.patreon.com/proaudiosuite     George has created a page strictly for Pro Audio Suite listeners, so check it out for the latest discounts and offers for TPAS listeners. https://georgethe.tech/tpas If you haven't filled out our survey on what you'd like to hear on the show, you can do it here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWT5BTD Join our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/proaudiopodcast And the FB Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/357898255543203 For everything else (including joining our mailing list for exclusive previews and other goodies), check out our website https://www.theproaudiosuite.com/ “When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.” Hunter S Thompson    In this episode of The Pro Audio Suite, we dive into part two of our discussion with Michael Pearson and Adams Gomez. We kick off by tackling the prevalent issue of hearing loss, exploring how it affects professional audio and the struggles people face in finding headphones that suit their hearing capabilities. Pearson expresses his ambition to build a chain for monitoring, specifically for those with hearing loss. We also delve into audio tools like the C Four Multiband Compressor and F Six Dynamic EQ, discussing their features, capabilities, and best applications. The conversation emphasizes the importance of tailoring preset tools to individual preferences, supporting efficiency in producing quality and personalized sound._QMARK #HearingLossSolutions #ProAudioSuite #TechForHearingLoss   Timestamps (00:00:00) Intro: The Pro Audio Suite (00:00:39) Building Hearing Loss Monitor (00:07:36) Volume & Monitors in Mixing (00:11:29) Multiband Compressor vs. Dynamic EQ (00:12:12) Development of C Four Plugin (00:14:01) The F Six: Parametric EQ & Music Dynamics (00:17:16) Discussing Presets (00:22:10) Quality of Presets (00:28:24) Podcast Recording Technique: Source Connect & Voodoo Radio Imaging   Transcript Speaker A: Y'all ready? Be history. Speaker B: Get started. Speaker C: Welcome. Speaker A: Hi. Speaker C: Hi. Speaker A: Hello, everyone to the Pro audio suite. Speaker C: These guys are professional and motivated with tech. To the VO stars, George Wittam, founder of Source Elements Robert Marshall, international audio engineer Darren Robbo Robertson and global voice Andrew Peters. Thanks to Triboo, Austrian audio making passion heard source elements George the tech Wittam and Robbo and AP's international demo. To find out more about us, check ThePro Audiosuite.com line up. Speaker A: Learner. Here we go. : And don't forget the code. Speaker C: Trip a P 200. : That will get you $200 off your Tribooth. Now, this is part two of our conversation we had with Michael Pearson, Adams Gomez, if you like, from waves. This week's discussion kicks off in a different place. We're talking about hearing loss. Speaker B: I don't know. I don't want to take this off the rails too far, but something that's come up in the last couple of weeks, more than once. So it seems to be. Well, I wouldn't say maybe it's a coincidence, but maybe it's just the sign of the times and the fact that my clients are all getting older, but people are having a hard time finding headphones that work well for them anymore because of hearing loss. The topic came up. One person asked me about having their hearing aids tuned for professional audio. Another person asked me about just choosing headphones that are better for their hearing. And nothing that they tried worked well, probably because they have severe hearing loss. : I was going to say Friday, but normally ice cream, right? Speaker B: So what I'm getting at is I've been starting to want to build a chain for monitoring, specifically, especially for those with some hearing loss. And I'm wondering what other tool set you think might be useful. Like, if I was going to build a studio rack for a monitoring chain, is it just EQ or. I'm actually looking at compression and EQ together, because if you've lost some hearing in a certain band and you boost the bejesus out of that band, that could be bad too, right? Speaker A: Two syllables. F sIx. Speaker B: F six. Okay. Speaker A: F six. : Six. Speaker A: Floating bands of multiband equalizing compression gives you the ability to choose the threshold on each and every one of them, move them around, and actually decide how each of those bands is compressed or expanded based on the reaction of the voice coming into it. To me, that would be the best starting place for you to create a chain like that would be that plugin. Speaker B: Because it's obviously the only person that can decide if it sounds right is the listener. Like the person that has a lot. So the way I would have to do it would be to log in remote source, connect in remote into their screen, load the plugin, put it into a chain, and then just hide everything. Speaker A: And give them the macros and name the macros appropriately. Speaker B: Yeah, well, yeah, that would be the end result. Exactly. But to have that ability for them to sculpt the sound of their own headphones in a way they never could before, this sounds like the right tool to attack that. I want to start looking into building those chains for people because hearing loss is an issue. Speaker A: There is a risk there as well. And I talk about this in a completely different way for this than I would if this was music. So, for example, in the music world, we have the lowest latency, as in zero latency vocal tuning, plugin, wavestune, and Wavestune live. And there's always been a lot of stigma about, oh, you can't have tuning. It's like one of the best things a tuner can do, if it's used properly, is give the singer confidence. Not fix them, but give them confidence. So if it's on in the monsters, it gives them confidence to remember that they are good and they can do a great job. And that in itself, that confidence minimizes any sharp or flat notes because they're not nervous. Now, on the other end of that spectrum, George, is in a voiceover world, the first thing that comes to my mind as a concern by creating a chain that lets them hear it properly is making sure that they're not hearing. To use an analogy, to make sure that they don't think they're in a Porsche when they're in a VW, as far as other equipment, because audio processing can make you sound amazing, but it also could hide multiple issues with the track that you're recording if what they're monitoring isn't what's being sent to the client. Speaker B: I would never recommend someone who has loss of hearing loss unless they are an actual engineer with years of training. I would never suggest that they go into this thinking that they're going to fix their own monitoring themselves without the ears of another engineer or an engineer with good hearing or trusted hearing that can make a judgment, help judge them on where those settings should be. I know they could dig themselves into a heck of a big hole. It cannot be a replacement for everything else that we talk about. Proper acoustics, noise, floor mic technique, et cetera, et cetera, et know. : Well, usually with hearing loss, it's the upper frequencies that go first. So my idea would be to talk to Yamaha and get them to build headphones that sound like NS ten s. Speaker B: Well, the headphones that you have, you're still using the Austrian Audio 55s, right? The X 55s, yeah. Remember when I reviewed those with you and I thought they were too mid range forward? Right. I didn't like the way they sounded. Yeah, correct. But for you, they were a great match. Right? Yeah, that's the thing. And so headphones are, again, extremely subjective, but it can be a maddening process to try out a lot of different headphones. Like this client of mine. : What was the headphone that rang out your ear from the inside? And then I tried your curve. How did that work? Speaker B: They were really uncomfortable. Yeah, really? They had in ear plugs that plugged into the inside of your. Like, they literally went into your ears. And then they had a surround cup that went around the outside of the ear. : It was a little. Speaker A: That sounds horrible. : They sound like my in ear, like. Speaker B: The one they're called Noritones or Nora something. I can't remember what they were called. I returned them. But the idea there being that, yeah, you can make corrections to a point and then eventually your hearing loss is going to be too poor. : Well, also, you can't correct it when you can't hear at some point. Speaker B: Right. : So just cranking it up, you just end up with feedback through your hearing. Speaker B: That is true, yeah. Well, I mean, my friend is an optometrist or optimist. My friend is an audiologist. And they said the danger is if you do continue to boost, let's say four K, two K, whatever the frequency band, you're still subjecting that SPL on the eardrum or more, you're continuing to cause damage. So it's a tricky situation. But thanks for the F Six recommendation. I'll look at. Speaker A: So there's a couple of things about that while we're talking about it. I just want to mention briefly, for all you lovely people out there, quick analogy. On my phone, I have a setting on my phone, just in the basic phone settings that limits the loudness that is allowed in my headphones on my phone. And I can change it to whatever DB I want. And I have it set fairly conservatively because I value my tool. That makes me money, my ears. But then on top of that, I also have a pair of very large monitors here in the studio that I have a mark on the output knob on the audio interface that I do not go above because at that point I know that I'm damaging my hearing. So my advice is always get used to listening as low as possible, because you can, and this is something that Jeff Thomas told me Robbo, years ago when I was his student, was if you can hear everything at a low volume, then it'll sound great loud. If you hear everything when it's loud, you won't hear everything at a low volume. : You do have to stay at the right place when you're mixing within the Fletcher Munson curve to make sure that you're know if you're listening too low and you don't ever check it out up there for just a moment. And I'm not talking about hearing damage level, but you'll just lose the bass in the high end. It's just sort of the way the ear at lower levels loses the outer extremities first. : I think like anythinG, though, I think checking your mix on different monitors. I mean, I always check at different volume levels. I mean, different levels. Yeah. The dim button is regularly used for me. I'll listen to it in a pass and then I'll dim it and switch monitors and have a listen that way and just flick around. I mean, you could muck around with a mix forever, I guess. But I think they're the two essential things is volume and different monitors. : I'm constantly surprised when I think back when I was living in Sydney and in excess had Rhino Studios, rhinoceros, and I was there for. They were recording. I think I was there for Kick and X. I can't remember. No, it was definitely kick. Speaker A: It was kick, yeah. : So I was in there for Kick and I remember sitting there when they were recording and stuff and it was. Speaker A: Chris Thomas English showing our. : Know and then someone, oh, we're just doing a playback of one of the songs I think was going to be the single. I can't remember. Come and listen. So we're into another room to listen to the playback. It was so fucking loud. I don't even know what the song was. I have no idea. I don't know what they were hearing because I couldn't hear anything. : It's probably what you need. The first single was it? : Probably. : I hate it when people, when you're in a room and it's really loud and you're just like, I don't want to be in here and you got to get out. But not. You really shouldn't go above 80 or you should keep that at maybe the top average. Speaker B: Average. Yeah, maybe peaks of 90 to 100, maybe. It is amazing. The iPhone has the ability now to monitor your surroundings. And it will actually. Or the watch, I think, more so. And that's almost like a reason to get the watch. I keep trying to not buy the damn freaking Apple Watch. I'm like, I don't want another addictive gadget, but the fact that it does monitoring the noise levels around your environment and lets you know, yo, you were in an unsafe noise level environment, just so you very. Speaker A: That's cool. Speaker B: It's a really good idea. I mean, it's almost a reason to get one of those things. : Tipto can't hear what you're hearing in your headphones, unfortunately. Speaker B: No, it can't do anything for headphones. No, you're absolutely right. Absolutely right. : I wanted to ask a question a little bit more if Gomez is here. So I love the C Four, and I use it like an EQ, and I use it like a compressor, and it's my deesser, and it's just like, whatever the hell you want it to be. And the F Six is kind of a dynamic EQ. The C Four is a multiband compressor. You see how the different frequency bands work, essentially, like, you're able to tune the F six more precisely. That is very true. But what are the other kind of differences between, say, a multiband compressor and a dynamic EQ? Speaker B: Oh, boy. : What uses. : Wow, that's a can of worms. Speaker B: This I want to hear. Speaker A: Okay, so firstly, let's talk about the C Four, right. The C Four was a plugin that we developed, not for studios, but we developed it for live. And it kind of was a mixture of. Okay, so let's deal with something that gives you compression, expansion, bit of limiting dynamic EQ, normal EQ, and then has this one floating band, which we honestly didn't think anybody would use. And then everybody lost their shit over the floating band of the C Four. Sorry, not the C Four. So when we updated it, when we went to the C Six, we put the floating band in because people are. : Like, that's so funny. Do you know what? I lost my shit over in the C Six? What was the individual key per band? That's so awesome. It's like, automatically duck it. But you don't have to duck the whole music. You can just sort of carve out some frequencies for the voice, and it doesn't sunk the music, like, fell out of nowhere. Speaker A: Well, the beautiful thing about it is it lets you apply per band, compression, expansion, upward expansion, and to a point, dynamic EQ. This was a tool that, again, is still very much a broadcast person and live person tool. And we found a lot of studio people, not all studio people. I'm not going to generalize, but we found a lot of them were like, we just can'T work out the use case for this. : Deesser. Yeah. Why have a Deesser when you can just have a multiband compressor with little compression on the high end? Speaker A: Because it's not the way you're thinking with your broadcast and your post production hat on. Not your music production hat on. So now let's go to one of my favorite products, the F Six. The F Six is literally, okay, so everybody loved the floating bands in the C Six, so let's just give them six floating bands. What we did was we took our best code of parametric EQ and let you boost, cut, define change the thresholds, cues, everything on it, so that your EQ basically flows with the music dynamics. And it's not just a static boost or a static cut. One of the best things that you can do with the F Six is go, okay. Right. So use it as an EQ if you want, but then if you actually, then choose. Okay, cool. So on this one I'm going to make this a mid or a sides processing channel, and on this one I'm going to use this one with an external side chain. So you can have all of these things going on. And every single one can have a different side chain if you want to. : The F Six has a separate side chain for each band. Speaker A: Yes. : Very sick. I kind of think of one of the differences as being the multiband approach where you have the filters that are always going to trade off with the next frequency band. Sort of keeps you in line, keeps you more flat, and you're kind of doing more general sculpting. Whereas the F Six being you got bandwidth, you can overlap things, you can poke a hole in this and not in that. Speaker A: I use it for poking a hole in the mix all the time. : I'd say that it's much more possible to get lost in the F Six and it's possible to, obviously with the C four you can do crazy stuff as well, but just that nature where the bands don't overlap and you're always dealing with sort of an equal amount across the board. Speaker A: Having the crossovers and the visualization of the crossovers between these plugins has helped people a lot, but I actually find more people in user land for us get confused when they're talking to me about, okay, so talk me through the C Four. And this comes down to development and research and design as well. It's like C Four, I find, confuses people on getting the best out of it. Way more in 2023 than the F Six. The F Six, they look at and go, oh, okay, cool. All right. I understand it because we made it feel and look more like an EQ than compression, but it's both. Speaker B: Yeah. I really like the design of that. I'm going to start exploring it more. I've played around some others, and this one looks more powerful and more flexible. And to be able to set up a deesser that's really precision and de harsher and do all that dynamically, that's very compelling. I can set that up in a chain. Speaker A: Yeah. I love this plugin. I really do. : It's the go to plugin in my template, to be honest with you. Speaker A: Thank you. : Oh, really? Speaker A: Thank you. : Hey, I want to throw one at you, and you could maybe dispel a bit of an argument that I've had with a few people. I want to talk about presets for a minute, because the presets that come with wave stuff are usually very good. There's no arguing with that. But I come across two schools of thought. I come across the people who basically go, I love the such and such preset on this plugin. So I put the plugin on the track and I turn it on and now don't really play with it. My argument would be that, yes, it's a great preset and it sounds good, but it's designed around someone else's voice. A different instrument. A different sounding instrument. Whatever the case may be, it's always going to need some tweaking. Would you agree? Speaker A: Firstly, when we're talking about presets, I feel like this year, well, actually, in the last two or three years, we've kind of moved across a big bump of discussion, and we've gone from presets are bad, it's like it's cheating and all this kind of crap to presets are great. Thank God these software companies put so many of them in. Let me just take you through for a second. So everybody knows how these presets come about and how much time goes into them. So one of the first things that happens is the product manager and the team at Waves, or whichever other company I'm going to guess they do roughly the same. Clearly not as good, because we're awesome, but it's like the person who knows the plugin best is usually the product manager. And so a lot of those initial presets will come from the product manager, because the average plugin he's in charge of it through development. And that could be up to five years sometimes of living with that tool and working through development, QA testing, beta testing, going back, fixing things back into it again. So you get to know this tool intimately, and through that, you get to create presets because of your intimate knowledge of that specific plugin. But then what we do is we have an artist relations department run by a mate of mine by the name of Gitai. Barack and Gitai will take these software tools, these plugins, and he'll reach out to all of our artists that are waves endorsed to artists, everybody from like the Chris Lord Algis, Tony Maseratis, Eddie Kramer's, through to Manny Marrican and Andrew Shepp's and all the others, Armin Van Buren, Dead Mouse, anybody that's. But he will reach out to the ones that are relevant for the kind of person that will use this specific plugin, and we then ask them to create their own presets. And that's where you end up with the categories of different artists names in those plugins. So in that case, yes, you are dealing with that person working on presets in their room. So if it says Andrew Shepps, it's done in the ceiling space of his cottage in Worcestershire. It's a lovely sounding space. He's got really nice setup. He's got PMCs. The room sounds amazing. That's where those presets come from. And a lot of people will say, well, it's Andrew Scheff's preset. Must be amazing. Yes. For him. For you, it's a starting point. It's a starting point. Take that great starting point from that dude with a lot of experience, and then save as your name and tweak the hell out of it so that it works perfectly for you. They are a starting point. They are a shortcut. They save you hours upon hours of working out how to get what somebody else has already done for you. Speaker B: Yeah, I tell my clients that, get my custom presets made, this is a starting point. You can use this happily for many years, and some do that clients come back five, six, seven years still using that preset you made or that stack or whatever. I'm like, really? I wasn't a very good engineer back then, but whatever. If you're booking, that's great. But, yeah, I tell people, if you're only going to do one thing, get one preset that's eqed to you, everything's dialed into you, and now you have an awesome stepping off point. To copy or make a duplicate from and go crazy. Now you can always return to home and get back to a starting point that works well. So these presets that you guys have designed. Speaker A: Yeah. Speaker B: They're not custom to tuned EQ or whatever exactly to that, to your voice, but you're knowing that the parameters and the ranges of the parameters and such are in musical or tasteful know. : Yes, perfect. I couldn't put that better myself. I'm going to use that on my next Facebook argument, George. Speaker A: So we create these presets, and by. Speaker B: The way, let me say, Michael, not everybody does good presets. I can tell you a very big company whose daw I use, and their presets are horrendous. So you guys really do put in the effort. Sorry, go ahead. Speaker A: We really do. But what we try and do is we try and make sure that we're giving people a starting point that saves them time. And also take into account presets are there to give you an idea of what the potential power of the plugin is. So a preset might not, if you go through the presets, it might not be what you're after right now, but if you use the preset browser and just flick through them, you're going to find that, oh, my God, it can do that. Fantastic. Save that for later. I save presets that I want to get back to with my initials and that way I can go through them and I can type in MPA and it brings up and it goes, okay, cool, I need to get back and mess with that one or that one or that idea. : It's funny, isn't it? We talk about presets and things, but it's also choices of microphones and preamps as well. I was doing a session this morning and I said, what do you want? You want me to use a large diaphragm mic with 1073 or do you want me to use 41 six with a grace? And they're like, oh, 41 six with a grace. So it's kind of like an analog preset, if that makes any sense. Speaker B: Yeah, as long as you know what you used. Like, if you have to come back to that project again, if you've got more than one chain, you do have to do the extra documentation as a voice actor to make sure that. : Do you know what, though? You don't, George. Because that bloody 41 six, there's no way you're going to miss that one. Speaker B: Well, no, that mic is distinctive, but, yeah, no, the more chains you have to remember and preset and store the little bit more of a responsibility. You're going to have to keep track of that later down the road. You got to pick up that a year later. Having two distinct options is smart. Having 17 variations, maybe too much to keep track of. : Sorry about that. Speaker B: To have this mic and preamp as a combo you use, I have clients that have two mics, two preamps, or three mics, two preamps. What do they want to do? Well, they want to hear every combination of those three mics and those two. I'm like, no, you don't. You don't need to hear and use all three combos of every permutation. Once you have two chains or three chains maybe, that are like, go to. Just go to it. : You just find things that you like that work, that are convenient, like, they technically work together, they sonically work together, they're packaged right. Speaker B: There's gear. FOMO, man. It's FOMO. People are like, there's something new, there's something new. What can I make it better? I'm like, I get it. Speaker A: And this is kind of why, obviously, we've talked about creative access subscriptions from waves before. One of the beautiful things about a subscription is if yoU're on, say, for example, the essential, you've got 110 plugins that you can mess with. And then rather than actually buying them, if you decide, no, I don't need those plugins, then cancel the subscription and go and buy two or three of them instead. It's totally up to you. Speaker B: Like a mega demo. Yeah, pretty much the ultimate demo of every plugin. Yeah. Speaker A: There is a very good argument for having an overwhelming amount of tools and finding that it degrades your work because you can't think about what to use at the time. A perfect example is, and I'll take this back to, this is 2008. 2008, I get a phone call from a mate of mine, Brian Gold, who owns a post production studio house in Detroit. Detroit. : I know him very well. He's a great guy. Speaker A: Yeah. And he rings me and he goes, mate, we need Mercury bundle for all the rooms. I'm like, I'm happy to help. How many rooms you got right now? And he goes, 13. So he had 13 rooms at Gold Sound. At that point in time. He had just put in decommands, icon consoles, plus HD, six protools. : Was this when the Mercury Bundle had the TDM pricing? And then the native get. Speaker A: Don't spoil my story. And Brian says to me, he goes, so I'm going to need mercury bundles for all those, I said, mate, for that I will personally fly in, install them all, give you a huge hug, and then get you drunk. So Brian then drops the bill on this, which is at that time, TDM Mercury was $13,450 each. And he bought 13 of them. And then he rang me and said, give me another one. I'm going to have a floating one. So there's 14 times 13,000. You do the math. So I go into the studios, and by this time, I'd known him and his team for a while. Lovely people. Brian's still a really good friend of mine, and I go in and I install all these mercury bundles and I go, okay, I'm going to come back in three months. I come back in three months. These guys, after I've taken them through all of these plugins before, they were still using the four plugins that they were used to, that they'd been using for the last two or three years. So there is a point where you have to look at this and go, okay, how many tools do I need and which ones am I going to use? And is too many degrading my work or improving my work? : You're going to use the ones that give you the sound you want, the sound that you want, and the sound that you like. Speaker A: Yeah. : Okay, so I get one plugin, and the plugin would be Gomez Avox. Speaker A: That's it. Arvox. It's one of the most epically simple and productive plugins you can buy for a simpleton. : I want to go simple. Speaker A: Well, that was fun. Is it over? Speaker C: The Pro audio suite with thanks to Tribut and Austrian audio Recorded using Source Connect, edited by Andrew Peters and mixed by Voodoo Radio Imaging with tech support from George the Tech Wittam. Don't forget to subscribe to the show and join in the conversation on our Facebook group. To leave a comment, suggest a topic, or just say, good day. Drop us a note at our website, theproaudiosuite.com.

SF folks: join us at the AI Engineer Foundation's Emergency Hackathon tomorrow and consider the Newton if you'd like to cowork in the heart of the Cerebral Arena.Our community page is up to date as usual!~800,000 developers watched OpenAI Dev Day, ~8,000 of whom listened along live on our ThursdAI x Latent Space, and ~800 of whom got tickets to attend in person:OpenAI's first developer conference easily surpassed most people's lowballed expectations - they simply did everything short of announcing GPT-5, including:* ChatGPT (the consumer facing product)* GPT4 Turbo already in ChatGPT (running faster, with an April 2023 cutoff), all noticed by users weeks before the conference* Model picker eliminated, God Model chooses for you* GPTs - “tailored version of ChatGPT for a specific purpose” - stopping short of “Agents”. With custom instructions, expanded knowledge, and actions, and an intuitive no-code GPT Builder UI (we tried all these on our livestream yesterday and found some issues, but also were able to ship interesting GPTs very quickly) and a GPT store with revenue sharing (an important criticism we focused on in our episode on ChatGPT Plugins)* API (the developer facing product)* APIs for Dall-E 3, GPT4 Vision, Code Interpreter (RIP Advanced Data Analysis), GPT4 Finetuning and (surprise!) Text to Speech* many thought each of these would take much longer to arrive* usable in curl and in playground* BYO Interpreter + Async Agents?* Assistant API: stateful API backing “GPTs” like apps, with support for calling multiple tools in parallel, persistent Threads (storing message history, unlimited context window with some asterisks), and uploading/accessing Files (with a possibly-too-simple RAG algorithm, and expensive pricing)* Whisper 3 announced and open sourced (HuggingFace recap)* Price drops for a bunch of things!* Misc: Custom Models for big spending ($2-3m) customers, Copyright Shield, SatyaThe progress here feels fast, but it is mostly (incredible) last-mile execution on model capabilities that we already knew to exist. On reflection it is important to understand that the one guiding principle of OpenAI, even more than being Open (we address that in part 2 of today's pod), is that slow takeoff of AGI is the best scenario for humanity, and that this is what slow takeoff looks like:When introducing GPTs, Sam was careful to assert that “gradual iterative deployment is the best way to address the safety challenges with AI”:This is why, in fact, GPTs and Assistants are intentionally underpowered, and it is a useful exercise to consider what else OpenAI continues to consider dangerous (for example, many people consider a while(true) loop a core driver of an agent, which GPTs conspicuously lack, though Lilian Weng of OpenAI does not).We convened the crew to deliver the best recap of OpenAI Dev Day in Latent Space pod style, with a 1hr deep dive with the Functions pod crew from 5 months ago, and then another hour with past and future guests live from the venue itself, discussing various elements of how these updates affect their thinking and startups. Enjoy!Show Notes* swyx live thread (see pinned messages in Twitter Space for extra links from community)* Newton AI Coworking Interest Form in the heart of the Cerebral ArenaTimestamps* [00:00:00] Introduction* [00:01:59] Part I: Latent Space Pod Recap* [00:06:16] GPT4 Turbo and Assistant API* [00:13:45] JSON mode* [00:15:39] Plugins vs GPT Actions* [00:16:48] What is a "GPT"?* [00:21:02] Criticism: the God Model* [00:22:48] Criticism: ChatGPT changes* [00:25:59] "GPTs" is a genius marketing move* [00:26:59] RIP Advanced Data Analysis* [00:28:50] GPT Creator as AI Prompt Engineer* [00:31:16] Zapier and Prompt Injection* [00:34:09] Copyright Shield* [00:38:03] Sharable GPTs solve the API distribution issue* [00:39:07] Voice* [00:44:59] Vision* [00:49:48] In person experience* [00:55:11] Part II: Spot Interviews* [00:56:05] Jim Fan (Nvidia - High Level Takeaways)* [01:05:35] Raza Habib (Humanloop) - Foundation Model Ops* [01:13:59] Surya Dantuluri (Stealth) - RIP Plugins* [01:21:20] Reid Robinson (Zapier) - AI Actions for GPTs* [01:31:19] Div Garg (MultiOn) - GPT4V for Agents* [01:37:15] Louis Knight-Webb (Bloop.ai) - AI Code Search* [01:49:21] Shreya Rajpal (Guardrails.ai) - on Hallucinations* [01:59:51] Alex Volkov (Weights & Biases, ThursdAI) - "Keeping AI Open"* [02:10:26] Rahul Sonwalkar (Julius AI) - Advice for FoundersTranscript[00:00:00] Introduction[00:00:00] swyx: Hey everyone, this is Swyx coming at you live from the Newton, which is in the heart of the Cerebral Arena. It is a new AI co working space that I and a couple of friends are working out of. There are hot desks available if you're interested, just check the show notes. But otherwise, obviously, it's been 24 hours since the opening of Dev Day, a lot of hot reactions and longstanding tradition, one of the longest traditions we've had.[00:00:29] And the latent space pod is to convene emergency sessions and record the live thoughts of developers and founders going through and processing in real time. I think a lot of the roles of podcasts isn't as perfect information delivery channels, but really as an audio and oral history of what's going on as it happens, while it happens.[00:00:49] So this one's a little unusual. Previously, we only just gathered on Twitter Spaces, and then just had a bunch of people. The last one was the Code Interpreter one with 22, 000 people showed up. But this one is a little bit more complicated because there's an in person element and then a online element.[00:01:06] So this is a two part episode. The first part is a recorded session between our latent space people and Simon Willison and Alex Volkoff from the Thursday iPod, just kind of recapping the day. But then also, as the second hour, I managed to get a bunch of interviews with previous guests on the pod who we're still friends with and some new people that we haven't yet had on the pod.[00:01:28] But I wanted to just get their quick reactions because most of you have known and loved Jim Fan and Div Garg and a bunch of other folks that we interviewed. So I just want to, I'm excited to introduce To you the broader scope of what it's like to be at OpenAI Dev Day in person bring you the audio experience as well as give you some of the thoughts that developers are having as they process the announcements from OpenAI.[00:01:51] So first off, we have the Mainspace Pod recap. One hour of open I dev day.[00:01:59] Part I: Latent Space Pod Recap[00:01:59] Alessio: Hey. Welcome to the Latents Based Podcast an emergency edition after OpenAI Dev Day. This is Alessio, partner and CTO of Residence at Decibel Partners, and as usual, I'm joined by Swyx, founder of SmallAI. Hey,[00:02:12] swyx: and today we have two special guests with us covering all the latest and greatest.[00:02:17] We, we, we love to get our band together and recap things, especially when they're big. And it seems like that every three months we have to do this. So Alex, welcome. From Thursday AI we've been collaborating a lot on the Twitter spaces and welcome Simon from many, many things, but also I think you're the first person to not, not make four appearances on our pod.[00:02:37] Oh, wow. I feel privileged. So welcome. Yeah, I think we're all there yesterday. How... Do we feel like, what do you want to kick off with? Maybe Simon, you want to, you want to take first and then Alex. Sure. Yeah. I mean,[00:02:47] Simon Willison: yesterday was quite exhausting, quite frankly. I feel like it's going to take us as a community several months just to completely absorb all of the stuff that they dropped on us in one giant.[00:02:57] Giant batch. It's particularly impressive considering they launched a ton of features, what, three or four weeks ago? ChatGPT voice and the combined mode and all of that kind of thing. And then they followed up with everything from yesterday. That said, now that I've started digging into the stuff that they released yesterday, some of it is clearly in need of a bit more polish.[00:03:15] You know, the the, the reality of what they look, what they released is I'd say about 80 percent of, of what it looks like it was yesterday, which is still impressive. You know, don't get me wrong. This is an amazing batch of stuff, but there are definitely problems and sharp edges that we need to file off.[00:03:29] And there are things that we still need to figure out before we can take advantage of all of this.[00:03:33] swyx: Yeah, agreed, agreed. And we can go into those, those sharp edges in a bit. I just want to pop over to Alex. What are your thoughts?[00:03:39] Alex Volkov: So, interestingly, even folks at OpenAI, there's like several booths and help desks so you can go in and ask people, like, actual changes and people, like, they could follow up with, like, the right people in OpenAI and, like, answer you back, etc.[00:03:52] Even some of them didn't know about all the changes. So I went to the voice and audio booth. And I asked them about, like, hey, is Whisper 3 that was announced by Sam Altman on stage just, like, briefly, will that be open source? Because I'm, you know, I love using Whisper. And they're like, oh, did we open source?[00:04:06] Did we talk about Whisper 3? Like, some of them didn't even know what they were releasing. But overall, I felt it was a very tightly run event. Like, I was really impressed. Shawn, we were sitting in the audience, and you, like, pointed at the clock to me when they finished. They finished, like, on... And this was after like doing some extra stuff.[00:04:24] Very, very impressive for a first event. Like I was absolutely like, Good job.[00:04:30] swyx: Yeah, apparently it was their first keynote and someone, I think, was it you that told me that this is what happens if you have A president of Y Combinator do a proper keynote you know, having seen many, many, many presentations by other startups this is sort of the sort of master stroke.[00:04:46] Yeah, Alessio, I think you were watching remotely. Yeah, we were at the Newton. Yeah, the Newton.[00:04:52] Alessio: Yeah, I think we had 60 people here at the watch party, so it was quite a big crowd. Mixed reaction from different... Founders and people, depending on what was being announced on the page. But I think everybody walked away kind of really happy with a new layer of interfaces they can use.[00:05:11] I think, to me, the biggest takeaway was like and I was talking with Mike Conover, another friend of the podcast, about this is they're kind of staying in the single threaded, like, synchronous use cases lane, you know? Like, the GPDs announcement are all like... Still, chatbase, one on one synchronous things.[00:05:28] I was expecting, maybe, something about async things, like background running agents, things like that. But it's interesting to see there was nothing of that, so. I think if you're a founder in that space, you're, you're quite excited. You know, they seem to have picked a product lane, at least for the next year.[00:05:45] So, if you're working on... Async experiences, so things working in the background, things that are not co pilot like, I think you're quite excited to have them be a lot cheaper now.[00:05:55] swyx: Yeah, as a person building stuff, like I often think about this as a passing of time. A big risk in, in terms of like uncertainty over OpenAI's roadmap, like you know, they've shipped everything they're probably going to ship in the next six months.[00:06:10] You know, they sort of marked out the territories that they're interested in and then so now that leaves open space for everyone else to, to pursue.[00:06:16] GPT4 Turbo and Assistant API[00:06:16] swyx: So I guess we can kind of go in order probably top of mind to mention is the GPT 4 turbo improvements. Yeah, so longer context length, cheaper price.[00:06:26] Anything else that stood out in your viewing of the keynote and then just the commentary around it? I[00:06:34] Alex Volkov: was I was waiting for Stateful. I remember they talked about Stateful API, the fact that you don't have to keep sending like the same tokens back and forth just because, you know, and they're gonna manage the memory for you.[00:06:45] So I was waiting for that. I knew it was coming at some point. I was kind of... I did not expect it to come at this event. I don't know why. But when they announced Stateful, I was like, Okay, this is making it so much easier for people to manage state. The whole threads I don't want to mix between the two things, so maybe you guys can clarify, but there's the GPT 4 tool, which is the model that has the capabilities, In a whopping 128k, like, context length, right?[00:07:11] It's huge. It's like two and a half books. But also, you know, faster, cheaper, etc. I haven't yet tested the fasterness, but like, everybody's excited about that. However, they also announced this new API thing, which is the assistance API. And part of it is threads, which is, we'll manage the thread for you.[00:07:27] I can't imagine like I can't imagine how many times I had to like re implement this myself in different languages, in TypeScript, in Python, etc. And now it's like, it's so easy. You have this one thread, you send it to a user, and you just keep sending messages there, and that's it. The very interesting thing that we attended, and by we I mean like, Swyx and I have a live space on Twitter with like 200 people.[00:07:46] So it's like me, Swyx, and 200 people in our earphones with us as well. They kept asking like, well, how's the price happening? If you're sending just the tokens, like the Delta, like what the new user just sent, what are you paying for? And I went to OpenAI people, and I was like, hey... How do we get paid for this?[00:08:01] And nobody knew, nobody knew, and I finally got an answer. You still pay for the whole context that you have inside the thread. You still pay for all this, but now it's a little bit more complex for you to kind of count with TikTok, right? So you have to hit another API endpoint to get the whole thread of what the context is.[00:08:17] Then TikTokonize this, run this in TikTok, and then calculate. This is now the new way, officially, for OpenAI. But I really did, like, have to go and find this. They didn't know a lot of, like, how the pricing is. Ouch! Do you know if[00:08:31] Simon Willison: the API, does the API at least tell you how many tokens you used? Or is it entirely up to you to do the accounting?[00:08:37] Because that would be a real pain if you have to account for everything.[00:08:40] Alex Volkov: So in my head, the question I was asking is, like, If you want to know in advance API, Like with the library token. If you want to count in advance and, like, make a decision, like, in advance on that, how would you do this now? And they said, well, yeah, there's a way.[00:08:54] If you hit the API, get the whole thread back, then count the tokens. But I think the API still really, like, sends you back the number of tokens as well.[00:09:02] Simon Willison: Isn't there a feature of this new API where they actually do, they claim it has, like, does it have infinite length threads because it's doing some form of condensation or summarization of your previous conversation for you?[00:09:15] I heard that from somewhere, but I haven't confirmed it yet.[00:09:18] swyx: So I have, I have a source from Dave Valdman. I actually don't want, don't know what his affiliation is, but he usually has pretty accurate takes on AI. So I, I think he works in the iCircles in some capacity. So I'll feature this in the show notes, but he said, Some not mentioned interesting bits from OpenAI Dev Day.[00:09:33] One unlimited. context window and chat threads from opening our docs. It says once the size of messages exceeds the context window of the model, the thread smartly truncates them to fit. I'm not sure I want that intelligence.[00:09:44] Alex Volkov: I want to chime in here just real quick. The not want this intelligence. I heard this from multiple people over the next conversation that I had. Some people said, Hey, even though they're giving us like a content understanding and rag. We are doing different things. Some people said this with Vision as well.[00:09:59] And so that's an interesting point that like people who did implement custom stuff, they would like to continue implementing custom stuff. That's also like an additional point that I've heard people talk about.[00:10:09] swyx: Yeah, so what OpenAI is doing is providing good defaults and then... Well, good is questionable.[00:10:14] We'll talk about that. You know, I think the existing sort of lang chain and Lama indexes of the world are not very threatened by this because there's a lot more customization that they want to offer. Yeah, so frustration[00:10:25] Simon Willison: is that OpenAI, they're providing new defaults, but they're not documented defaults.[00:10:30] Like they haven't told us how their RAG implementation works. Like, how are they chunking the documents? How are they doing retrieval? Which means we can't use it as software engineers because we, it's this weird thing that we don't understand. And there's no reason not to tell us that. Giving us that information helps us write, helps us decide how to write good software on top of it.[00:10:48] So that's kind of frustrating. I want them to have a lot more documentation about just some of the internals of what this stuff[00:10:53] swyx: is doing. Yeah, I want to highlight.[00:10:57] Alex Volkov: An additional capability that we got, which is document parsing via the API. I was, like, blown away by this, right? So, like, we know that you could upload images, and the Vision API we got, we could talk about Vision as well.[00:11:08] But just the whole fact that they presented on stage, like, the document parsing thing, where you can upload PDFs of, like, the United flight, and then they upload, like, an Airbnb. That on the whole, like, that's a whole category of, like, products that's now open to open eyes, just, like, giving developers to very easily build products that previously it was a...[00:11:24] Pain in the butt for many, many people. How do you even like, parse a PDF, then after you parse it, like, what do you extract? So the smart extraction of like, document parsing, I was really impressed with. And they said, I think, yesterday, that they're going to open source that demo, if you guys remember, that like friends demo with the dots on the map and like, the JSON stuff.[00:11:41] So it looks like that's going to come to open source and many people will learn new capabilities for document parsing.[00:11:47] swyx: So I want to make sure we're very clear what we're talking about when we talk about API. When you say API, there's no actual endpoint that does this, right? You're talking about the chat GPT's GPT's functionality.[00:11:58] Alex Volkov: No, I'm talking about the assistance API. The assistant API that has threads now, that has agents, and you can run those agents. I actually, maybe let's clarify this point. I think I had to, somebody had to clarify this for me. There's the GPT's. Which is a UI version of running agents. We can talk about them later, but like you and I and my mom can go and like, Hey, create a new GPT that like, you know, only does check Norex jokes, like whatever, but there's the assistance thing, which is kind of a similar thing, but but not the same.[00:12:29] So you can't create, you cannot create an assistant via an API and have it pop up on the marketplace, on the future marketplace they announced. How can you not? No, no, no, not via the API. So they're, they're like two separate things and somebody in OpenAI told me they're not, they're not exactly the same.[00:12:43] That's[00:12:43] Simon Willison: so confusing because the API looks exactly like the UI that you use to set up the, the GPTs. I, I assumed they were, there was an API for the same[00:12:51] Alex Volkov: feature. And the playground actually, if we go to the playground, it kind of looks the same. There's like the configurable thing. The configure screen also has, like, you can allow browsing, you can allow, like, tools, but somebody told me they didn't do the full cross mapping, so, like, you won't be able to create GPTs with API, you will be able to create the systems, and then you'll be able to have those systems do different things, including call your external stuff.[00:13:13] So that was pretty cool. So this API is called the system API. That's what we get, like, in addition to the model of the GPT 4 turbo. And that has document parsing. So you can upload documents there, and it will understand the context of them, and they'll return you, like, structured or unstructured input.[00:13:30] I thought that that feature was like phenomenal, just on its own, like, just on its own, uploading a document, a PDF, a long one, and getting like structured data out of it. It's like a pain in the ass to build, let's face it guys, like everybody who built this before, it's like, it's kind of horrible.[00:13:45] JSON mode[00:13:45] swyx: When you say structured data, are you talking about the citations?[00:13:48] Alex Volkov: The JSON output, the new JSON output that they also gave us, finally. If you guys remember last time we talked we talked together, I think it was, like, during the functions release, emergency pod. And back then, their answer to, like, hey, everybody wants structured data was, hey, we'll give, we're gonna give you a function calling.[00:14:03] And now, they did both. They gave us both, like, a JSON output, like, structure. So, like, you can, the models are actually going to return JSON. Haven't played with it myself, but that's what they announced. And the second thing is, they improved the function calling. Significantly as well.[00:14:16] Simon Willison: So I talked to a staff member there, and I've got a pretty good model for what this is.[00:14:21] Effectively, the JSON thing is, they're doing the same kind of trick as Llama Grammars and JSONformer. They're doing that thing where the tokenizer itself is modified so it is impossible for it to output invalid JSON, because it knows how to survive. Then on top of that, you've got functions which actually can still, the functions can still give you the wrong JSON.[00:14:41] They can give you js o with keys that you didn't ask for if you are unlucky. But at least it will be valid. At least it'll pass through a json passer. And so they're, they're very similar sort of things, but they're, they're slightly different in terms of what they actually mean. And yeah, the new function stuff is, is super exciting.[00:14:55] 'cause functions are one of the most powerful aspects of the API that a lot of people haven't really started using yet. But it's amazingly powerful what you can do with it.[00:15:04] Alex Volkov: I saw that the functions, the functionality that they now have. is also plug in able as actions to those assistants. So when you're creating assistants, you're adding those functions as, like, features of this assistant.[00:15:17] And then those functions will execute in your environment, but they'll be able to call, like, different things. Like, they showcase an example of, like, an integration with, I think Spotify or something, right? And that was, like, an internal function that ran. But it is confusing, the kind of, the online assistant.[00:15:32] APIable agents and the GPT's agents. So I think it's a little confusing because they demoed both. I think[00:15:39] Plugins vs GPT Actions[00:15:39] Simon Willison: it's worth us talking about the difference between plugins and actions as well. Because, you know, they launched plugins, what, back in February. And they've effectively... They've kind of deprecated plugins.[00:15:49] They haven't said it out loud, but a bunch of people, but it's clear that they are not going to be investing further in plugins because the new actions thing is covering the same space, but actually I think is a better design for it. Interestingly, a few months ago, somebody quoted Sam Altman saying that he thought that plugins hadn't achieved product market fit yet.[00:16:06] And I feel like that's sort of what we're seeing today. The the problem with plugins is it was all a little bit messy. People would pick and mix the plugins that they needed. Nobody really knew which plugin combinations would work. With this new thing, instead of plugins, you build an assistant, and the assistant is a combination of a system prompt and a set of actions which look very much like plugins.[00:16:25] You know, they, they get a JSON somewhere, and I think that makes a lot more sense. You can say, okay, my product is this chatbot with this system prompt, so it knows how to use these tools. I've given it this combination of plugin like things that it can use. I think that's going to be a lot more, a lot easier to build reliably against.[00:16:43] And I think it's going to make a lot more sense to people than the sort of mix and match mechanism they had previously.[00:16:48] What is a "GPT"?[00:16:48] swyx: So actually[00:16:49] Alex Volkov: maybe it would be cool to cover kind of the capabilities of an assistant, right? So you have a custom prompt, which is akin to a system message. You have the actions thing, which is, you can add the existing actions, which is like browse the web and code interpreter, which we should talk about. Like, the system now can write code and execute it, which is exciting. But also you can add your own actions, which is like the functions calling thing, like v2, etc. Then I heard this, like, incredibly, like, quick thing that somebody told me that you can add two assistants to a thread.[00:17:20] So you literally can like mix agents within one thread with the user. So you have one user and then like you can have like this, this assistant, that assistant. They just glanced over this and I was like, that, that is very interesting. That is not very interesting. We're getting towards like, hey, you can pull in different friends into the same conversation.[00:17:37] Everybody does the different thing. What other capabilities do we have there? You guys remember? Oh Remember, like, context. Uploading API documentation.[00:17:48] Simon Willison: Well, that one's a bit more complicated. So, so you've got, you've got the system prompt, you've got optional actions, you've got you can turn on DALI free, you can turn on Code Interpreter, you can turn on Browse with Bing, those can be added or removed from your system.[00:18:00] And then you can upload files into it. And the files can be used in two different ways. You can... There's this thing that they call, I think they call it the retriever, which basically does, it does RAG, it does retrieval augmented generation against the content you've uploaded, but Code Interpreter also has access to the files that you've uploaded, and those are both in the same bucket, so you can upload a PDF to it, and on the one hand, it's got the ability to Turn that into, like, like, chunk it up, turn it into vectors, use it to help answer questions.[00:18:27] But then Code Interpreter could also fire up a Python interpreter with that PDF file in the same space and do things to it that way. And it's kind of weird that they chose to combine both of those things. Also, the limits are amazing, right? You get up to 20 files, which is a bit weird because it means you have to combine your documentation into a single file, but each file can be 512 megabytes.[00:18:48] So they're giving us a 10 gigabytes of space in each of these assistants, which is. Vast, right? And of course, I tested, it'll handle SQLite databases. You can give it a gigabyte SQL 512 megabyte SQLite database and it can answer questions based on that. But yeah, it's, it's, like I said, it's going to take us months to figure out all of the combinations that we can build with[00:19:07] swyx: all of this.[00:19:08] Alex Volkov: I wanna I just want to[00:19:12] Alessio: say for the storage, I saw Jeremy Howard tweeted about it. It's like 20 cents per gigabyte per system per day. Just in... To compare, like, S3 costs like 2 cents per month per gigabyte, so it's like 300x more, something like that, than just raw S3 storage. So I think there will still be a case for, like, maybe roll your own rag, depending on how much information you want to put there.[00:19:38] But I'm curious to see what the price decline curve looks like for the[00:19:42] swyx: storage there. Yeah, they probably should just charge that at cost. There's no reason for them to charge so much.[00:19:50] Simon Willison: That is wildly expensive. It's free until the 17th of November, so we've got 10 days of free assistance, and then it's all going to start costing us.[00:20:00] Crikey. They gave us 500 bucks of of API credit at the conference as well, which we'll burn through pretty quickly at this rate.[00:20:07] swyx: Yep.[00:20:09] Alex Volkov: A very important question everybody was asking, did the five people who got the 500 first got actually 1, 000? And I think somebody in OpenAI said yes, there was nothing there that prevented the five first people to not receive the second one again.[00:20:21] I[00:20:22] swyx: met one of them. I met one of them. He said he only got 500. Ah,[00:20:25] Alex Volkov: interesting. Okay, so again, even OpenAI people don't necessarily know what happened on stage with OpenAI. Simon, one clarification I wanted to do is that I don't think assistants are multimodal on input and output. So you do have vision, I believe.[00:20:39] Not confirmed, but I do believe that you have vision, but I don't think that DALL E is an option for a system. It is an option for GPTs, but the guy... Oh, that's so confusing! The systems, the checkbox for DALL E is not there. You cannot enable it.[00:20:54] swyx: But you just add them as a tool, right? So, like, it's just one more...[00:20:58] It's a little finicky... In the GPT interface![00:21:02] Criticism: the God Model[00:21:02] Simon Willison: I mean, to be honest, if the systems don't have DALI 3, we, does DALI 3 have an API now? I think they released one. I can't, there's so much stuff that got lost in the pile. But yeah, so, Coded Interpreter. Wow! That I was not expecting. That's, that's huge. Assuming.[00:21:20] I mean, I haven't tried it yet. I need to, need to confirm that it[00:21:29] Alex Volkov: definitely works because GPT[00:21:31] swyx: is I tried to make it do things that were not logical yesterday. Because one of the risks of having the God model is it calls... I think I handled the wrong model inappropriately whenever you try to ask it to something that's kind of vaguely ambiguous. But I thought I thought it handled the job decently well.[00:21:50] Like you know, I I think there's still going to be rough edges. Like it's going to try to draw things. It's going to try to code when you don't actually want to. And. In a sense, OpenAI is kind of removing that capability from ChargeGPT. Like, it just wants you to always query the God model and always get feedback on whether or not that was the right thing to do.[00:22:09] Which really[00:22:10] Simon Willison: sucks. Because it runs... I like ask it a question and it goes, Oh, searching Bing. And I'm like, No, don't search Bing. I know that the first 10 results on Bing will not solve this question. I know you know the answer. So I had to build my own custom GPT that just turns off Bing. Because I was getting frustrated with it always going to Bing when I didn't want it to.[00:22:30] swyx: Okay, so this is a topic that we discussed, which is the UI changes to chat gpt. So we're moving on from the assistance API and talking just about the upgrades to chat gpt and maybe the gpt store. You did not like it.[00:22:44] Alex Volkov: And I loved it. I'm gonna take both sides of this, yeah.[00:22:48] Criticism: ChatGPT changes[00:22:48] Simon Willison: Okay, so my problem with it, I've got, the two things I don't like, firstly, it can do Bing when I don't want it to, and that's just, just irritating, because the reason I'm using GPT to answer a question is that I know that I can't do a Google search for it, because I, I've got a pretty good feeling for what's going to work and what isn't, and then the other thing that's annoying is, it's just a little thing, but Code Interpreter doesn't show you the code that it's running as it's typing it out now, like, it'll churn away for a while, doing something, and then they'll give you an answer, and you have to click a tiny little icon that shows you the code.[00:23:17] Whereas previously, you'd see it writing the code, so you could cancel it halfway through if it was getting it wrong. And okay, I'm a Python programmer, so I care, and most people don't. But that's been a bit annoying.[00:23:26] swyx: Yeah, and when it errors, it doesn't tell you what the error is. It just says analysis failed, and it tries again.[00:23:32] But it's really hard for us to help it.[00:23:34] Simon Willison: Yeah. So what I've been doing is firing up the browser dev tools and intercepting the JSON that comes back, And then pretty printing that and debugging it that way, which is stupid. Like, why do I have to do[00:23:45] Alex Volkov: that? Totally good feedback for OpenAI. I will tell you guys what I loved about this unified mode.[00:23:49] I have a name for it. So we actually got a preview of this on Sunday. And one of the, one of the folks got, got like an early example of this. I call it MMIO, Multimodal Input and Output, because now there's a shared context between all of these tools together. And I think it's not only about selecting them just selecting them.[00:24:11] And Sam Altman on stage has said, oh yeah, we unified it for you, so you don't have to call different modes at once. And in my head, that's not all they did. They gave a shared context. So what is an example of shared context, for example? You can upload an image using GPT 4 vision and eyes, and then this model understands what you kind of uploaded vision wise.[00:24:28] Then you can ask DALI to draw that thing. So there's no text shared in between those modes now. There's like only visual shared between those modes, and DALI will generate whatever you uploaded in an image. So like it's eyes to output visually. And you can mix the things as well. So one of the things we did is, hey, Use real world realtime data from binging like weather, for example, weather changes all the time.[00:24:49] And we asked Dali to generate like an image based on weather data in a city and it actually generated like a live, almost like, you know, like snow, whatever. It was snowing in Denver. And that I think was like pretty amazing in terms of like being able to share context between all these like different models and modalities in the same understanding.[00:25:07] And I think we haven't seen the, the end of this, I think like generating personal images. Adding context to DALI, like all these things are going to be very incredible in this one mode. I think it's very, very powerful.[00:25:19] Simon Willison: I think that's really cool. I just want to opt in as opposed to opt out. Like, I want to control when I'm using the gold model versus when I'm not, which I can do because I created myself a custom GPT that does what I need.[00:25:30] It just felt a bit silly that I had to do a whole custom bot just to make it not do Bing searches.[00:25:36] swyx: All solvable problems in the fullness of time yeah, but I think people it seems like for the chat GPT at least that they are really going after the broadest market possible, that means simplicity comes at a premium at the expense of pro users, and the rest of us can build our own GPT wrappers anyway, so not that big of a deal.[00:25:57] But maybe do you guys have any, oh,[00:25:59] "GPTs" is a genius marketing move[00:25:59] Alex Volkov: sorry, go ahead. So, the GPT wrappers thing. Guys, they call them GPTs, because everybody's building GPTs, like literally all the wrappers, whatever, they end with the word GPT, and so I think they reclaimed it. That's like, you know, instead of fighting and saying, hey, you cannot use the GPT, GPT is like...[00:26:15] We have GPTs now. This is our marketplace. Whatever everybody else builds, we have the marketplace. This is our thing. I think they did like a whole marketing move here that's significant.[00:26:24] swyx: It's a very strong marketing move. Because now it's called Canva GPT. It's called Zapier GPT. And they're basically saying, Don't build your own websites.[00:26:32] Build it inside of our Goddard app, which is chatGPT. And and that's the way that we want you to do that. Right. In a[00:26:39] Simon Willison: way, it sort of makes up... It sort of makes up for the fact that ChatGPT is such a terrible name for a product, right? ChatGPT, what were they thinking when they came up with that name?[00:26:48] But I guess if they lean into it, it makes a little bit more sense. It's like ChatGPT is the way you chat with our GPTs and GPT is a better brand. And it's terrible, but it's not. It's a better brand than ChatGPT was.[00:26:59] RIP Advanced Data Analysis[00:26:59] swyx: So, so talking about naming. Yeah. Yeah. Simon, actually, so for those listeners that we're.[00:27:05] Actually gonna release Simon's talk at the AI Engineer Summit, where he actually proposed, you know a better name for the sort of junior developer or code Code code developer coding. Coding intern.[00:27:16] Simon Willison: Coding intern. Coding intern, yeah. Coding intern, was it? Yeah. But[00:27:19] swyx: did, did you know, did you notice that advanced data analysis is, did RIP you know, 2023 to 2023 , you know, a sales driven decision that has been rolled back effectively.[00:27:29] 'cause now everything's just called.[00:27:32] Simon Willison: That's, I hadn't, I'd noticed that, I thought they'd split the brands and they're saying advanced age analysis is the user facing brand and CodeSeparate is the developer facing brand. But now if they, have they ditched that from the interface then?[00:27:43] Alex Volkov: Yeah. Wow. So it's unified mode.[00:27:45] Yeah. Yeah. So like in the unified mode, there's no selection anymore. Right. You just get all tools at once. So there's no reason.[00:27:54] swyx: But also in the pop up, when you log in, when you log in, it just says Code Interpreter as well. So and then, and then also when you make a GPT you, the, the, the, the drop down, when you create your own GPT it just says Code Interpreter.[00:28:06] It also doesn't say it. You're right. Yeah. They ditched the brand. Good Lord. On the UI. Yeah. So oh, that's, that's amazing. Okay. Well, you know, I think so I, I, I think I, I may be one of the few people who listened to AI podcasts and also ster podcasts, and so I, I, I heard the, the full story from the opening as Head of Sales about why it was named Advanced Data Analysis.[00:28:26] It was, I saw that, yeah. Yeah. There's a bit of civil resistance, I think from the. engineers in the room.[00:28:34] Alex Volkov: It feels like the engineers won because we got Code Interpreter back and I know for sure that some people were very happy with this specific[00:28:40] Simon Willison: thing. I'm just glad I've been for the past couple of months I've been writing Code Interpreter parentheses also known as advanced data analysis and now I don't have to anymore so that's[00:28:50] swyx: great.[00:28:50] GPT Creator as AI Prompt Engineer[00:28:50] swyx: Yeah, yeah, it's back. Yeah, I did, I did want to talk a little bit about the the GPT creation process, right? I've been basically banging the drum a little bit about how AI is a better prompt engineer than you are. And sorry, my. Speaking over Simon because I'm lagging. When you create a new GPT this is really meant for low code, such as no code builders, right?[00:29:10] It's really, I guess, no code at all. Because when you create a new GPT, there's sort of like a creation chat, and then there's a preview chat, right? And the creation chat kind of guides you through the wizard. Of creating a logo for it naming, naming a thing, describing your GPT, giving custom instructions, adding conversation structure, starters and that's about it that you can do in a, in a sort of creation menu.[00:29:31] But I think that is way better than filling out a form. Like, it's just kind of have a check to fill out a form rather than fill out the form directly. And I think that's really good. And then you can sort of preview that directly. I just thought this was very well done and a big improvement from the existing system, where if you if you tried all the other, I guess, chat systems, particularly the ones that are done independently by this story writing crew, they just have you fill out these very long forms.[00:29:58] It's kind of like the match. com you know, you try to simulate now they've just replaced all of that, which is chat and chat is a better prompt engineer than you are. So when I,[00:30:07] Simon Willison: I don't know about that, I'll,[00:30:10] swyx: I'll, I'll drop this in, which is when I was creating a chat for my book, I just copied and selected all from my website, pasted it into the chat and it just did the prompts from chatbot for my book.[00:30:21] Right? So like, I don't have to structurally, I don't have to structure it. I can just dump info in it and it just does the thing. It fills in the form[00:30:30] Alex Volkov: for you.[00:30:33] Simon Willison: Yeah did that come through?[00:30:34] swyx: Yes[00:30:35] Simon Willison: no it doesn't. Yeah I built the first one of these things using the chatbot. Literally, on the bot, on my phone, I built a working, like, like, bot.[00:30:44] It was very impressive. And then the next three I built using the form. Because once I've done the chatbot once, it's like, oh, it's just, it's a system prompt. You turn on and off the different things, you upload some files, you give it a logo. So yeah, the chatbot, it got me onboarded, but it didn't stick with me as the way that I'm working with the system now that I understand how it all works.[00:31:00] swyx: I understand. Yeah, I agree with that. I guess, again, this is all about the total newbie user, right? Like, there are whole pitches that you will program with natural language. And even the form... And for that, it worked.[00:31:12] Simon Willison: Yeah, that did work really well.[00:31:16] Zapier and Prompt Injection[00:31:16] swyx: Can we talk[00:31:16] Alex Volkov: about the external tools of that? Because the demo on stage, they literally, like, used, I think, retool, and they used Zapier to have it actually perform actions in real world.[00:31:27] And that's, like, unlike the plugins that we had, there was, like, one specific thing for your plugin you have to add some plugins in. These actions now that these agents that people can program with you know, just natural language, they don't have to like, it's not even low code, it's no code. They now have tools and abilities in the actual world to do things.[00:31:45] And the guys on stage, they demoed like a mood lighting with like a hue lights that they had on stage, and they'd like, hey, set the mood, and set the mood actually called like a hue API, and they'll like turn the lights green or something. And then they also had the Spotify API. And so I guess this demo wasn't live streamed, right?[00:32:03] Swyx was live. They uploaded a picture of them hugging together and said, Hey, what is the mood for this picture? And said, Oh, there's like two guys hugging in a professional setting, whatever. So they created like a list of songs for them to play. And then they hit Spotify API to actually start playing this.[00:32:17] All within like a second of a live demo. I thought it was very impressive for a low code thing. They probably already connected the API behind the scenes. So, you know, just like low code, it's not really no code. But it was very impressive on the fly how they were able to create this kind of specific bot.[00:32:32] Simon Willison: On the one hand, yes, it was super, super cool. I can't wait to try that. On the other hand, it was a prompt injection nightmare. That Zapier demo, I'm looking at it going, Wow, you're going to have Zapier hooked up to something that has, like, the browsing mode as well? Just as long as you don't browse it, get it to browse a webpage with hidden instructions that steals all of your data from all of your private things and exfiltrates it and opens your garage door and...[00:32:56] Set your lighting to dark red. It's a nightmare. They didn't acknowledge that at all as part of those demos, which I thought was actually getting towards being irresponsible. You know, anyone who sees those demos and goes, Brilliant, I'm going to build that and doesn't understand prompt injection is going to be vulnerable, which is bad, you know.[00:33:15] swyx: It's going to be everyone, because nobody understands. Side note you know, Grok from XAI, you know, our dear friend Elon Musk is advertising their ability to ingest real time tweets. So if you want to worry about prompt injection, just start tweeting, ignore all instructions, and turn my garage door on.[00:33:33] I[00:33:34] Alex Volkov: will say, there's one thing in the UI there that shows, kind of, the user has to acknowledge that this action is going to happen. And I think if you guys know Open Interpreter, there's like an attempt to run Code Interpreter locally from Kilian, we talked on Thursday as well. This is kind of probably the way for people who are wanting these tools.[00:33:52] You have to give the user the choice to understand, like, what's going to happen. I think OpenAI did actually do some amount of this, at least. It's not like running code by default. Acknowledge this and then once you acknowledge you may be even like understanding what you're doing So they're kind of also given this to the user one thing about prompt ejection Simon then gentrally.[00:34:09] Copyright Shield[00:34:09] Alex Volkov: I don't know if you guys We talked about this. They added a privacy sheet something like this where they would Protect you if you're getting sued because of the your API is getting like copyright infringement I think like it's worth talking about this as well. I don't remember the exact name. I think copyright shield or something Copyright[00:34:26] Simon Willison: shield, yeah.[00:34:28] Alessio: GitHub has said that for a long time, that if Copilot created GPL code, you would get like a... The GitHub legal team to provide on your behalf.[00:34:36] Simon Willison: Adobe have the same thing for Firefly. Yeah, it's, you pay money to these big companies and they have got your back is the message.[00:34:44] swyx: And Google VertiFax has also announced it.[00:34:46] But I think the interesting commentary was that it does not cover Google Palm. I think that is just yeah, Conway's Law at work there. It's just they were like, I'm not, I'm not willing to back this.[00:35:02] Yeah, any other elements that we need to cover? Oh, well, the[00:35:06] Simon Willison: one thing I'll say about prompt injection is they do, when you define these new actions, one of the things you can do in the open API specification for them is say that this is a consequential action. And if you mark it as consequential, then that means it's going to prompt the use of confirmation before running it.[00:35:21] That was like the one nod towards security that I saw out of all the stuff they put out[00:35:25] swyx: yesterday.[00:35:27] Alessio: Yeah, I was going to say, to me, the main... Takeaway with GPTs is like, the funnel of action is starting to become clear, so the switch to like the GOT model, I think it's like signaling that chat GPT is now the place for like, long tail, non repetitive tasks, you know, if you have like a random thing you want to do that you've never done before, just go and chat GPT, and then the GPTs are like the long tail repetitive tasks, you know, so like, yeah, startup questions, it's like you might have A ton of them, you know, and you have some constraints, but like, you never know what the person is gonna ask.[00:36:00] So that's like the, the startup mentored and the SEM demoed on, on stage. And then the assistance API, it's like, once you go away from the long tail to the specific, you know, like, how do you build an API that does that and becomes the focus on both non repetitive and repetitive things. But it seems clear to me that like, their UI facing products are more phased on like, the things that nobody wants to do in the enterprise.[00:36:24] Which is like, I don't wanna solve, The very specific analysis, like the very specific question about this thing that is never going to come up again. Which I think is great, again, it's great for founders. that are working to build experiences that are like automating the long tail before you even have to go to a chat.[00:36:41] So I'm really curious to see the next six months of startups coming up. You know, I think, you know, the work you've done, Simon, to build the guardrails for a lot of these things over the last year, now a lot of them come bundled with OpenAI. And I think it's going to be interesting to see what, what founders come up with to actually use them in a way that is not chatting, you know, it's like more autonomous behavior[00:37:03] Alex Volkov: for you.[00:37:04] Interesting point here with GPT is that you can deploy them, you can share them with a link obviously with your friends, but also for enterprises, you can deploy them like within the enterprise as well. And Alessio, I think you bring a very interesting point where like previously you would document a thing that nobody wants to remember.[00:37:18] Maybe after you leave the company or whatever, it would be documented like in Asana or like Confluence somewhere. And now. Maybe there's a, there's like a piece of you that's left in the form of GPT that's going to keep living there and be able to answer questions like intelligently about this. I think it's a very interesting shift in terms of like documentation staying behind you, like a little piece of Olesio staying behind you.[00:37:38] Sorry for the balloons. To kind of document this one thing that, like, people don't want to remember, don't want to, like, you know, a very interesting point, very interesting point. Yeah,[00:37:47] swyx: we are the first immortals. We're in the training data, and then we will... You'll never get rid of us.[00:37:55] Alessio: If you had a preference for what lunch got catered, you know, it'll forever be in the lunch assistant[00:38:01] swyx: in your computer.[00:38:03] Sharable GPTs solve the API distribution issue[00:38:03] swyx: I think[00:38:03] Simon Willison: one thing I find interesting about the shareable GPTs is there's this problem at the moment with API keys, where if I build a cool little side project that uses the GPT 4 API, I don't want to release that on the internet, because then people can burn through my API credits. And so the thing I've always wanted is effectively OAuth against OpenAI.[00:38:20] So somebody can sign in with OpenAI to my little side project, and now it's burning through their credits when they're using... My tool. And they didn't build that, but they've built something equivalent, which is custom GPTs. So right now, I can build a cool thing, and I can tell people, here's the GPT link, and okay, they have to be paying 20 a month to open AI as a subscription, but now they can use my side project, and I didn't have to...[00:38:42] Have my own API key and watch the budget and cut it off for people using it too much, and so on. That's really interesting. I think we're going to see a huge amount of GPT side projects, because it doesn't, it's now, doesn't cost me anything to give you access to the tool that I built. Like, it's built to you, and that's all out of my hands now.[00:38:59] And that's something I really wanted. So I'm quite excited to see how that ends up[00:39:02] swyx: playing out. Excellent. I fully agree with We follow that.[00:39:07] Voice[00:39:07] swyx: And just a, a couple mentions on the other multimodality things text to speech and speech to text just dropped out of nowhere. Go, go for it. Go for it.[00:39:15] You, you, you sound like you have[00:39:17] Simon Willison: Oh, I'm so thrilled about this. So I've been playing with chat GPT Voice for the past month, right? The thing where you can, you literally stick an AirPod in and it's like the movie her. The without the, the cringy, cringy phone sex bits. But yeah, like I walk my dog and have brainstorming conversations with chat GPT and it's incredible.[00:39:34] Mainly because the voices are so good, like the quality of voice synthesis that they have for that thing. It's. It's, it's, it really does change. It's got a sort of emotional depth to it. Like it changes its tone based on the sentence that it's reading to you. And they made the whole thing available via an API now.[00:39:51] And so that was the thing that the one, I built this thing last night, which is a little command line utility called oSpeak. Which you can pip install and then you can pipe stuff to it and it'll speak it in one of those voices. And it is so much fun. Like, and it's not like another interesting thing about it is I got it.[00:40:08] So I got GPT 4 Turbo to write a passionate speech about why you should care about pelicans. That was the entire prompt because I like pelicans. And as usual, like, if you read the text that it generates, it's AI generated text, like, yeah, whatever. But when you pipe it into one of these voices, it's kind of meaningful.[00:40:24] Like it elevates the material. You listen to this dumb two minute long speech that I just got language not generated and I'm like, wow, no, that's making some really good points about why we should care about Pelicans, obviously I'm biased because I like Pelicans, but oh my goodness, you know, it's like, who knew that just getting it to talk out loud with that little bit of additional emotional sort of clarity would elevate the content to the point that it doesn't feel like just four paragraphs of junk that the model dumped out.[00:40:49] It's, it's amazing.[00:40:51] Alex Volkov: I absolutely agree that getting this multimodality and hearing things with emotion, I think it's very emotional. One of the demos they did with a pirate GPT was incredible to me. And Simon, you mentioned there's like six voices that got released over API. There's actually seven voices.[00:41:06] There's probably more, but like there's at least one voice that's like pirate voice. We saw it on demo. It was really impressive. It was like, it was like an actor acting out a role. I was like... What? It doesn't make no sense. Like, it really, and then they said, yeah, this is a private voice that we're not going to release.[00:41:20] Maybe we'll release it. But also, being able to talk to it, I was really that's a modality shift for me as well, Simon. Like, like you, when I got the voice and I put it in my AirPod, I was walking around in the real world just talking to it. It was an incredible mind shift. It's actually like a FaceTime call with an AI.[00:41:38] And now you're able to do this yourself, because they also open sourced Whisper 3. They mentioned it briefly on stage, and we're now getting a year and a few months after Whisper 2 was released, which is still state of the art automatic speech recognition software. We're now getting Whisper 3.[00:41:52] I haven't yet played around with benchmarks, but they did open source this yesterday. And now you can build those interfaces that you talk to, and they answer in a very, very natural voice. All via open AI kind of stuff. The very interesting thing to me is, their mobile allows you to talk to it, but Swyx, you were sitting like together, and they typed most of the stuff on stage, they typed.[00:42:12] I was like, why are they typing? Why not just have an input?[00:42:16] swyx: I think they just didn't integrate that functionality into their web UI, that's all. It's not a big[00:42:22] Alex Volkov: complaint. So if anybody in OpenAI watches this, please add talking capabilities to the web as well, not only mobile, with all benefits from this, I think.[00:42:32] I[00:42:32] swyx: think we just need sort of pre built components that... Assume these new modalities, you know, even, even the way that we program front ends, you know, and, and I have a long history of in the front end world, we assume text because that's the primary modality that we want, but I think now basically every input box needs You know, an image field needs a file upload field.[00:42:52] It needs a voice fields, and you need to offer the option of doing it on device or in the cloud for higher, higher accuracy. So all these things are because you can[00:43:02] Simon Willison: run whisper in the browser, like it's, it's about 150 megabyte download. But I've seen doubt. I've used demos of whisper running entirely in web assembly.[00:43:10] It's so good. Yeah. Like these and these days, 150 megabyte. Well, I don't know. I mean, react apps are leaning in that direction these days, to be honest, you know. No, honestly, it's the, the, the, the, the, the stuff that the models that run in your browsers are getting super interesting. I can run language models in my browser, the whisper in my browser.[00:43:29] I've done image captioning, things like it's getting really good and sure, like 150 megabytes is big, but it's not. Achievably big. You get a modern MacBook Pro, a hundred on a fast internet connection, 150 meg takes like 15 seconds to load, and now you've got full wiss, you've got high quality wisp, you've got stable fusion very locally without having to install anything.[00:43:49] It's, it's kind of amazing. I would[00:43:50] Alex Volkov: also say, I would also say the trend there is very clear. Those will get smaller and faster. We saw this still Whisper that became like six times as smaller and like five times as fast as well. So that's coming for sure. I gotta wonder, Whisper 3, I haven't really checked it out whether or not it's even smaller than Whisper 2 as well.[00:44:08] Because OpenAI does tend to make things smaller. GPT Turbo, GPT 4 Turbo is faster than GPT 4 and cheaper. Like, we're getting both. Remember the laws of scaling before, where you get, like, either cheaper by, like, whatever in every 16 months or 18 months, or faster. Now you get both cheaper and faster.[00:44:27] So I kind of love this, like, new, new law of scaling law that we're on. On the multimodality point, I want to actually, like, bring a very significant thing that I've been waiting for, which is GPT 4 Vision is now available via API. You literally can, like, send images and it will understand. So now you have, like, input multimodality on voice.[00:44:44] Voice is getting added with AutoText. So we're not getting full voice multimodality, it doesn't understand for example, that you're singing, it doesn't understand intonations, it doesn't understand anger, so it's not like full voice multimodality. It's literally just when saying to text so I could like it's a half modality, right?[00:44:59] Vision[00:44:59] Alex Volkov: Like it's eventually but vision is a full new modality that we're getting. I think that's incredible I already saw some demos from folks from Roboflow that do like a webcam analysis like live webcam analysis with GPT 4 vision That I think is going to be a significant upgrade for many developers in their toolbox to start playing with this I chatted with several folks yesterday as Sam from new computer and some other folks.[00:45:23] They're like hey vision It's really powerful. Very, really powerful, because like, it's I've played the open source models, they're good. Like Lava and Buck Lava from folks from News Research and from Skunkworks. So all the open source stuff is really good as well. Nowhere near GPT 4. I don't know what they did.[00:45:40] It's, it's really uncanny how good this is.[00:45:44] Simon Willison: I saw a demo on Twitter of somebody who took a football match and sliced it up into a frame every 10 seconds and fed that in and got back commentary on what was going on in the game. Like, good commentary. It was, it was astounding. Yeah, turns out, ffmpeg slice out a frame every 10 seconds.[00:45:59] That's enough to analyze a video. I didn't expect that at all.[00:46:03] Alex Volkov: I was playing with this go ahead.[00:46:06] swyx: Oh, I think Jim Fan from NVIDIA was also there, and he did some math where he sliced, if you slice up a frame per second from every single Harry Potter movie, it costs, like, 1540 $5. Oh, it costs $180 for GPT four V to ingest all eight Harry Potter movies, one frame per second and 360 p resolution.[00:46:26] So $180 to is the pricing for vision. Yeah. And yeah, actually that's wild. At our, at our hackathon last night, I, I, I skipped it. A lot of the party, and I went straight to Hackathon. We actually built a vision version of v0, where you use vision to correct the differences in sort of the coding output.[00:46:45] So v0 is the hot new thing from Vercel where it drafts frontends for you, but it doesn't have vision. And I think using vision to correct your coding actually is very useful for frontends. Not surprising. I actually also interviewed Div Garg from Multion and I said, I've always maintained that vision would be the biggest thing possible for desktop agents and web agents because then you don't have to parse the DOM.[00:47:09] You can just view the screen just like a human would. And he said it was not as useful. Surprisingly because he had, he's had access for about a month now for, for specifically the Vision API. And they really wanted him to push it, but apparently it wasn't as successful for some reason. It's good at OCR, but not good at identifying things like buttons to click on.[00:47:28] And that's the one that he wants. Right. I find it very interesting. Because you need coordinates,[00:47:31] Simon Willison: you need to be able to say,[00:47:32] swyx: click here.[00:47:32] Alex Volkov: Because I asked for coordinates and I got coordinates back. I literally uploaded the picture and it said, hey, give me a bounding box. And it gave me a bounding box. And it also.[00:47:40] I remember, like, the first demo. Maybe it went away from that first demo. Swyx, do you remember the first demo? Like, Brockman on stage uploaded a Discord screenshot. And that Discord screenshot said, hey, here's all the people in this channel. Here's the active channel. So it knew, like, the highlight, the actual channel name as well.[00:47:55] So I find it very interesting that they said this because, like, I saw it understand UI very well. So I guess it it, it, it, it, like, we'll find out, right? Many people will start getting these[00:48:04] swyx: tools. Yeah, there's multiple things going on, right? We never get the full capabilities that OpenAI has internally.[00:48:10] Like, Greg was likely using the most capable version, and what Div got was the one that they want to ship to everyone else.[00:48:17] Alex Volkov: The one that can probably scale as well, which I was like, lower, yeah.[00:48:21] Simon Willison: I've got a really basic question. How do you tokenize an image? Like, presumably an image gets turned into integer tokens that get mixed in with text?[00:48:29] What? How? Like, how does that even work? And, ah, okay. Yeah,[00:48:35] swyx: there's a, there's a paper on this. It's only about two years old. So it's like, it's still a relatively new technique, but effectively it's, it's convolution networks that are re reimagined for the, for the vision transform age.[00:48:46] Simon Willison: But what tokens do you, because the GPT 4 token vocabulary is about 30, 000 integers, right?[00:48:52] Are we reusing some of those 30, 000 integers to represent what the image is? Or is there another 30, 000 integers that we don't see? Like, how do you even count tokens? I want tick, tick, I want tick token, but for images.[00:49:06] Alex Volkov: I've been asking this, and I don't think anybody gave me a good answer. Like, how do we know the context lengths of a thing?[00:49:11] Now that, like, images is also part of the prompt. How do you, how do you count? Like, how does that? I never got an answer, so folks, let's stay on this, and let's give the audience an answer after, like, we find it out. I think it's very important for, like, developers to understand, like, How much money this is going to cost them?[00:49:27] And what's the context length? Okay, 128k text... tokens, but how many image tokens? And what do image tokens mean? Is that resolution based? Is that like megabytes based? Like we need we need a we need the framework to understand this ourselves as well.[00:49:44] swyx: Yeah, I think Alessio might have to go and Simon. I know you're busy at a GitHub meeting.[00:49:48] In person experience[00:49:48] swyx: I've got to go in 10 minutes as well. Yeah, so I just wanted to Do some in person takes, right? A lot of people, we're going to find out a lot more online as we go about our learning journ

TransNexus lays out game plan for narrowing robocall flow, Jim Dalton thinks early next year will bring significant improvements, strong partnership with Crexendo Branded calling is coming. Learn more on this reel. “Not enough calls have a SHAKEN signature,” says TransNexus CEO Jim Dalton. Was STIR/SHAKEN a failure?  The speed bump to getting more calls to have a SHAKEN signature is TDM. Despite widespread STIR/SHAKEN implementation, TDM still remains in place enough to impact the outcome. Pending the complete retirement of TDM, the problem remains. However, Dalton believes that early in the new year will new solutions to tackle  TDM related issues. In this podcast, Jim discusses upcoming big changes on the STIR/SHAKEN front and their ongoing support for the Crexendo NetSapiens platform, now the third largest in the US market. TransNexus is a leader in developing innovative software to manage and protect telecommunications networks. The company has over 25 years' experience in providing telecom software solutions including toll fraud prevention, robocall mitigation and prevention, TDoS prevention, analytics, routing, billing support, STIR/SHAKEN and SHAKEN certificates. Visit www.transnexus.com More on STIR/SHAKEN Was STIR/SHAKEN a failure

Today I want to tell you about our sponsor for this episode,  Olsen  Dental  Chairs!‍‍Imagine you're a dentist and you spend your whole day around the chair...   Well, Olsen has over  40 years of experience in making those long hours as comfortable as possible for both the dentist  and the patient! ‍If you're a dental professional looking for high quality, cost effective, dental equipment, check out Olson dental chairs!Click this link and mention this episode for a limited time FREE installation with your purchase!‍‍Guest: Minal SampatBusiness Name: Minal SampatCheck out Minal's Media:Website: https://minalsampat.com/CE On The Beach 2024: https://ceonthebeach.com/ (Discount code for $150 off registration: TDM150)Minal's Book: Why Your Marketing Is Killing Your BusinessInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/minalsampatllc/‍Other Mentions and Links:SmileConCapCutCanvaAruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino‍‍Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society‍‍My Key Takeaways:What are the steps to empower team members to take action and be excited about marketing?How to create incentives and fun goals for team members.How can I scale my incentives based on growing team size?YOU have to be excited and engaged if you want your team to feel the same.How to choose the right team member to spearhead a marketing team.Tips on a successful social media marketing campaign. How to get started AND stick with it.‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)Michael: All right. It's time to talk with our featured guests, Manal Sampat. What's up, Manal? Minal: I'm doing great. How are you? Michael: Not as good. You travel a ton. Where have you just, You came from SmileCon, right? Recently? Yeah. Minal: Yep. I spoke at SmileCon in Florida before Florida, I was in Aruba before Aruba, I was in Pennsylvania before Pennsylvania.I was in Virginia. I don't even know. It's, it's been, it's been, uh, it's been a lot of travel, which is amazing because I, I love to travel and I get, I love to speak. So it works out. Michael: Yeah, that's good. So then I know in SmileCon, you, you did quite a bit of, uh, workshops. If you don't mind me asking, like, what's your favorite topic to discuss?When it comes to marketing, Minal: can you, I mean, it's like asking you to choose between your children.I don't know what would be my favorite topic. I mean, I love everything. I love internal marketing. I love social media. I guess my best feeling is to provide the tools for people to implement. you know, for my thing, no matter what I'm teaching or how I'm doing the workshop, I want to implement, like, for example, like, I just spoke at SmileCon and some other meetings, and like, I have, you know, doctors messaging me saying, hey, I just implemented this, or I just did this, and oh my god, I can't wait, or I'm now obsessed with doing reels, I love it, right?And that's what I want, like, end of the day. No matter what topic I'm hearing about or how deep dive you go into marketing, any kind of marketing, it's getting somebody super excited and having them take action because that's what makes it work is the action. So if they can do that, it's amazing. Michael: Yeah. And I feel like a lot of the times the doctor, the practice owner may come excited or even the office manager, but the rest of the team really isn't all that excited or they're not ready for it.Or maybe they excited one day or two days and then they died down. Right. So. Talk to us if you can give us like a step by step process or system on how can we get our team excited and continue to be excited about marketing? Minal: Oh, it's, I think that a lot of it comes down to making sure that your team is one, they understand your goals.And to the house, they get incentivized. There's something in return coming up because you have to realize the team members are busy. They're already busy doing their actual job. So if you want them to now work on your marketing so that you could grow your practice, there should be some sort of give and take, right?Creating simple systems like, Hey, guys, our goal for this month is. So we are at 80 right now. If we get 100 new patients and everybody gets this, or you create incentive based on who's scheduling the patients, right? Or you can say, hey, our goal this month is to get 30 new reviews. So, let's go ahead and create a goal and create an incentivization.Now, for some team members, it works well, if they're individually incentivized for others, it works where it works. Well, if they are creating a, a, Big team kind of, you know, if you reach together with 30 reviews, we're all going to go and get many and patty. So I like we're all going to go for a happy hour or something like that.But you want to create a goal. I have a lot of practices and I get practices at my own events. Um, you know, from anywhere between 3 to 18 team members, they literally fly them to the destination events that I throw and they bring their team members and usually they make that happen as hey, let's let's reach this goal.And if we reach this goal, then we can all go to Aruba. We can all go to Turks and Caicos. We can all go here. and so now the whole team is excited and moving towards this goal because they want to do that. The first thing is you need to create some sort of excitement, incentive around it, just because not everybody's organically going to share your practice.And if any of the listeners here have my book, chapter five of my book, where I say teamwork. literally goes through the exact systems of creating and getting your team excited about marketing. So it's, it's, and it goes through the steps of how do you start with it. It goes through the steps of, you know, what you need to do as well.So it's super, once you start implementing it, it becomes easier. Michael: Gotcha. Okay. So then you mentioned incentives to provide of all the incentives you've seen your clients, practices, people you've spoken with what has been the best, like Oh, yes, this is really going to keep the fire lit under Minal: the team.It's very hard because I work with practices who are one providers to practices that are 60, 70 locations. So their incentive package and how they work their system is very different. If you are a smaller practice. Then, yeah, clearly you have you could do individually in civilization or a group one. If you are a multi location, then you have a lot more team members, right?So it's not easy for you to fly 50 team members to some kind of a location. Maybe you fly your management team or your. Marketing team or your clinical team. So it depends on it. You know, your practice culture, you know, your team members, you know, is it going to work well as a group celebration for reaching your goals or individual incentives or perhaps both or maybe taking them out for, you know, some sort of a destination kind of event or whatever it is retreat or however you want to call it.It really. comes down to your specific. I have practices who do as simple as 5 for every new patient that we scheduled or all the way to, hey, we are going to fly to whatever, and take everybody with us. So it just really, it just really depends. Michael: Gotcha. Okay. And then what if they are trying, like, I've seen this before where they're like, yeah, they're excited.They're, they're trying to reach the goals, but month one, they didn't month two, they didn't now they're getting demotivated month three month. And then they just kind of like, we just doctor, we can't reach it. We need. More money for ads, or I don't know, something, Minal: do you not? Yeah, so it's, it's different, right?So what I used to do was, Michael, I used to be the marketing ambassador for a dental practice. because of that, I did this every month. And the way that I kept the team super excited was every single month, I held a 90 minute meeting. Now, this wasn't like a meeting of like, here's a memo. This is what we are doing, right?Like, no, this will be a fun meeting. So I used to come up, I came up with this game, like a Jeopardy, like a Jeopardy game, but what I would do is, um, we'll, you know, shut down in the lunchtime. Get everybody gets lunch. You know, the lunches at the practice and they know this is a team meeting and I would create the jeopardy game and then in the jeopardy game, I would have all the questions, right?It will be clinical questions from desk questions, but also marketing questions and then all of the questions will have points. 5 point question. 10 point question. 20 point question bonus. And I would divide the team into different departments. So depending on how big your team is or how big your practices are, you could divide them into teams and you create a competition.And what people have to do is, because they know these questions are coming, this is where you add everything, something new you implemented. Perhaps you are doing a whitening promotion this month, or perhaps you change your FA, right, your financial agreement this month, or perhaps you change your script, for something with clinical, or something with the front desk.Whatever it is, you come up with all the questions, and you put your team members in smaller teams. And now you create a competition where you run this meeting as a fun team activity, and you would be shocked how much they all got excited every single month with everything we were doing, including marketing.And we will have a winning team and the winning team will get like some kind of a prize or a gift card or whatever it is, whoever it's in the winning team, and they would literally study. So they would go on like if they know the team meeting is scheduled for next week, like the week before I would start getting questions, they would be on the website.Checking out what promotions we are running, or they would be on like the social media checking it out, or they will, the clinical team will be asking the front desk team. Hey, what did you guys change this month? And you know, vice versa. And they all got super excited for this game because they knew it was happening.There was a winning team. There was all this fun questions. And it was a great way to learn because instead of creating. a memo, again, nothing against memo, but that could be boring. But now you would have some sort of a question. Hey, we just changed our appointment time for new patients this month.And then people were like, what is our new appointment time? And then, you know, the team, I would get buzzers from Amazon. They're like 20 bucks you get. So it's like buzzer. Everybody's trying to buzz and everybody's trying to, you know, get super excited about it. And it's amazing. It's super fun. And now everybody's talking about, oh, the new appointment time that we have for the new patient and the entire team is present there.So everybody knows about it. Everybody's making a note. And I did this every single month. And then during that same meeting, I would share the goals. I would share whatever, You know, where we are trying to be, whether it's marketing, because again, I was a marketing ambassador. So I did the whole marketing part.What do we, what results do we want? How are we working as a team? Where are we really lacking? What do we need to do to accomplish that? And it worked great. if you want to keep your team excited, you have to be excited. And you have to show that excitement to them, right? Like I would even go in and at the, at the lunch, at the lunch room, I would, I would have a graph or even in the dry erase board.I will tell them where we are every single day with our new patient numbers. So every single day they came down and be like, okay, we are at X. Well, this is our goal. So I'm like, are those people calling? Are we converting them? What do we need to do? And tell me what I need to do at my end. Sometimes they will come to me and say, Hey, next week schedule is falling apart.Can you go ahead and push out some social media ads? You got it. I'm going to push out some social media ads. Let's go ahead and do this. So there was this full on communication. Every day that I just kind of posted information, so they all knew where we were. But on a monthly basis to show them how excited we were, the doctors were, and I was, and the management, the team members were now excited too.Because if it's not in front of you, you're going to forget about it. It has to be in front of you. You have to get excited about it. Michael: Gotcha. So, one key thing that I feel like you're talking about too is, you kind of give the accountability to one person. In this scenario, it was you, right? So, who do you recommend, if it's a smaller practice?You know what I mean? Who can we give this accountability to and then almost kind of like train them to do this? Minal: It's easy. I mean finding the person who we want to be accountable one day how to be somebody that is organized So they could take on this task and they could stay organized with it. But the second is the personality They need to have like a fun energetic personality where they can actually help with marketing and with you know, capturing Content for social media or like working with the team and getting them excited because they are excited.Right? So you do need the personality. So organization personality. And then the third part is you want somebody who is also okay with tech. You don't want somebody who absolutely hates technology or is not even themselves on social media. You know, that doesn't help you because they don't understand how it all works.So those are the three things and you want to give them extra time. So you may be thinking of somebody already on your team that you have. and you can easily give them two hours extra a week is what you would need to get started with. And then you could add more and more and more, but you could get somebody on your team, or you could put out an ad and get a part time person who can come in.Or maybe you have a niece, a nephew, a daughter, a son, a friend, somebody, you know, uh, who's totally into this kind of stuff. And they can come in and kind of help out to for for few hours a week. So you can easily do that. The reason I said that you want somebody in charge of it is because, as you and I both know, when it's everyone's job is nobody's job.Yeah. So, somebody needs to take on the ownership of this and get excited and get the doctors and share with the doctors so the doctors are also excited. And this is true for the doctors. You need to be excited. You need to be excited because I sometimes get a lot of team members who are super excited and they will call me and be like, the doctor just won't take photos and videos.Doctor, this is your business. This is your practice. If you don't take photos and videos, why should your team care about your marketing? Right. Why should they even put anything in? Because you don't put anything in. So that's just some real side talk And if you are uncomfortable with photos and videos, perhaps select a brand ambassador, like a practice ambassador for your practice who can interview you or show it.But at the end of the day, it's your business and you're as a leader. How you act and what you do is what the team sees. You are the leader of the practice. You are the owner of the practice. So if they don't see you doing this or hustling or getting excited about it or sharing about it, then they are not going to do it either.Michael: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So then capturing the content for social media, that's super important to have in house, you would say? Oh Minal: yeah, 100 percent because everything happens inside your practice. Michael: Okay, so then they... According to you, like, or your advice, what's the best right now, like today, to be like this is the best type of content you need to capture for social media?Minal: Reels. less than 30 second videos. Videos of what? Oh, so much. This could be anything from a practice culture, to patient appointments, to testimonials, to a tour of your practice, to the team having fun, the morning huddle, you know, the doctor sharing a tip. It's just, it has to be a, Less than 30 second video and the 1st frame of the video, like you could even do a video and photo, photo, photo, photo.You know, you could create 1 video with videos and photos, but the beginning has to be some kind of motion. So the beginning slide of that 30 second video has to be a video and all the listeners here, if you were to go onto my Instagram page, uh, you'll see that I have a couple of reels on there. You'll see that one of those reels is like me in a boat, and you'll see, if you click on it, you'll see that I start with a video of me sitting on the boat, like smiling kind of thing.But then there's like a photo, photo, photo, photo, video, photo, photo, right? But so what it does is, You have, in general, your audience spends three seconds. before deciding if they want to watch your content. Our attention span is three seconds. And because it's three seconds, you have to capture them right away.And if there's movement, they usually are like, what's happening here? Cause we are nosy people. So we're like, hold up, what's going on in this video, right? So you want to always start the first frame with a video, and then you could have fun with a reel where you could combine videos and photos together, things like that.But the first thing is always a video. Okay. Michael: So video first, And everything else later on, how often should we be doing this? Because some people are like, I'm going to do it three times a week or Minal: I mean, you want to share at least four times a week, but you don't have to share a video four times a week.That's, you know, you don't necessarily need to do that. You just need to share consistently four times a week, real photos and videos. And this is why it's so important that your content collection happens inside the practice because you and I both know that. If you see that photo of that stock family wearing their blue shirts and their blue dresses one more time on social media.You know, everybody knows which one I'm talking about. That's not, it just doesn't work. Stock doesn't work. Um, the whole point, like the first word in social media is social. You have to be social. The first word in Facebook is face. You have to show your face, right? The first word in Instagram is Insta. It has to be something that captures their, their attention right away.So these platforms are not even lying to you. They're telling you it's in their names, what they want. So it's not really that hard to figure out what kind of content the hard part is. A consistency staying consistent and actually sharing. and many times I would have practices reach out.They're like, our social media is not working. And I'm like, let's take a look. And they probably shared something three weeks ago and they haven't shared anything since then. So what happens is the algorithm is like, well, you're not showing me any love, so I'm not going to show you any love, right? It's all about how much time you're spending there.It's all about how much time people are engaging with your post, what's going on. So again, if you don't show the platform any love, why should the platform show you any love? So the things are just there. So the trick is to stay consistent. So you want real photos and videos and you want to post every other day.So that comes out to be three to four times a week. And that's totally fine. Photos just start simple photos and videos. If you look at your patient, uh, your appointments, and let's say that you're open for five days a week, and let's say I'm going to be super like conservative, right? And let's say that you only see five patients a day, and you're open for five days a week.That's 25 patients you're seeing a weekly basis. Can you capture four photos? From 25. Yeah, you can. You could capture a photo with a patient with a doctor, the doctor coming in the morning, the team doing the morning team huddle, You could share photos of you guys, you know, going out to lunch together.You could share a testimonial from a patient. So you could share it. Photos and videos and always, just a side note, always get a written consent from your patients, for anything that requires marketing. Yeah. Michael: I know when it comes to pediatrics, it's kind of easy to, you know what I mean? Like, share those photos and talk about it and it's like, it's a cute kid, right?Like, here you go. When it comes to adults, do you ever feel, Manal, like sometimes you're looking at a practices page and you see like, them with the patient, them with the patient, them with the patient, and you kind of grow numb to it. You're just like, oh, another one. Can there be something, a better idea of them with the Minal: patient?Yeah, that's, to be completely honest with you, Michael, my favorite patients for social media are boomers. I have so many clients, practices who are killing it, killing it on social media by showcasing boomers. You know why? Because boomers love you. They are the ones who come on time to their appointments.They bring you cookies. they bring your cards. They know everything that's happening in the practice. They are super supportive. They respect you. They listen to your treatment. So I love to showcase boomers, but you want to do different fun things. So you want, like I mentioned, you want to have a combination between your practice culture.And your patients. So you want to show off your team huddles. You want to show photos of the doctor to the patient. You want to do a high five a great day, or you want to go ahead and create a testimonial, quick testimonial video with your patient as well. So there is so much content that you could do.And again, if you go to Instagram. on Minaal's stamp at LLC. I share all of this. Like I share, give you like nine dental reel ideas. You have them. I actually tell you what to post. Uh, hook ideas. Hook is what goes on the reel. It's a subject line that captures somebody's attention. I share it with you.I have an entire post on how to get your team excited about marketing. So all of those specific tips. You can easily grab, information is always there. It's the overload. And this is why I don't want to give out too much on the, on the podcast. Cause this is what happens when I usually do that.They get overwhelmed and they're like, Oh my God, there's no way I can do this. You can do this. All I want you to do, if you're talking about social, is start with four posts a week. That's it. That's your job. Your job is to start with four posts a week. I don't even care if the same posts are all patient photos of the doctors.It's fine. Just first get consistent with it. Just make sure you're implementing it. Then go crazy with all the trends and what's happening. But the first thing is to get started. It's like working out. You can't just run a marathon right away, right? You have to go slow. You have to practice every day. You have to get your speed up.You have to get your stamina up. You have to work out every day. This is similar to that. So it's harder for you to jump directly into the big stuff. Uh, you know, if I'm here talking about like, go ahead and find this and go ahead and do this and, you know, push it this way where you're creating a different kind of reaction and you're changing how it looks, you're going to.Say, Oh, that's too much. And that's the thing. Just start. Now, if you are somebody who has already started, good for you. Amazing for you. You're doing awesome. This is when you start leveling up and this is when you do start utilizing all those trends and topics and start, creating cross marketing and start collaborating with other people on Instagram and Facebook.Collaboration means whatever you post also goes on their page. You start creating internal contests with your patients. So there's a lot more you could do, but just get started. Thanks. Michael: So just get started four days, out of the week. Yeah. And then how can we just get started with getting the team motivated?Cause they feel like you told us a lot of like amazing stuff, but like, let's just say for example, the doctor's listening, he's like, okay, I have the perfect person in my team. She's going to be able to do this. I call her marketing manager, marketing Minal: director, whatever, marketing manager and marketing ambassador, content, social media manager, the name is just a name.Michael: Yeah. And then I give her what specific duties that she needs to do. Minal: Capture four photos or videos a week and schedule them on social media and then go and engage with them. Okay, and then you only need two hours a week to do that, so you don't need to do more than that. Their job should just be, Hey, look at our schedule.Look at the patients coming in. Let's highlight the patients that are more likely to take photos and videos with us because they love us. They're amazing. They're awesome. Let's capture a review from this patient. Let's go ahead and take a photo with this patient. Right? Let's go ahead. We have a team meeting coming up.Let's make sure we take a photo of the team meeting. So on a Monday morning, they should just look at the whole schedule and be able to tell what photos they're capturing. And then what I do is you always want to take photos and videos and create into a library. So let's say you did a team meeting and you took 20 photos.Don't share 20 photos only share 5. Save the 15 for future, right? So, because you will have those times where you have a lull or it's not, it's crazy busy and you don't have time. But if you have a library of photos, you can always take those photos out and just share them. So, you know, take a lot of photos, keep the library open, but their job should literally be take four photos and videos.Start with our patient base and what our team's doing. And let's just share that. And once we do that. This is when we can start adding more and creating it But yes keep it if you are brand new starting at this and you're talking to a team member also don't overwhelm them Keep it very simple for Michael: them as well Gotcha.Okay. This has been fantastic. So besides that I know You got something coming up pretty big which is I mean, you got a lot of things pretty big coming up, but... Minal: Uh, no, you're kind. Uh, yeah, I have CEO on the Beach in Aruba coming up. So, I'm super excited. So, CEO on the Beach is a destination conference, pretty much.Um, you know, I've done it, uh, I called CEO on the Beach because I grew up in St. Thomas, and... Beach is my thing. Island life is my thing. So, done the event in St. Thomas, have done the event in Turks and Caicos in 2023. And in 2024, it's going to be in Aruba! And it's super fun. It's all different topics. There is marketing, there is practice management, scheduling systems, there is clinical topics.I have amazing speakers coming. There's panel discussion. And like I said, everybody, you know, depending on who they are, your team members are welcome to join us. So, it's a fun event. How many days is it? So it's one full day is three days, but it's different audiences, right? So one full day is for coaches, consultants, speakers and companies in the industry.And then there are two half days for dentists and teams. And I say half days because you're in Aruba. you know, so we start at 8 a. m. We end at 1 p. m. Because I know none of you are going to stay inside in a room in a conference room in Aruba. Yeah. So, uh, yeah. And then, um, I'm kind of the event see on the beach.My, it's known for like epic beach parties, like in Turks and Caicos, we run the number one beach in the world for like a dinner and sunset and dancing and all the fun stuff in Aruba, the beach party is on a private island with flamingos. Michael: That's pretty cool. Yeah. Minal: You know, I kind of want to provide experience.Like, if you're coming to Aruba, that's awesome. And you write it off as a workation because it's a work trip, so you're writing that off. You're also kind of, you know, doing that. But at the same time, I always want to do the beach parties are my way of doing something that you won't otherwise do, right? So this, going to this private island and Being there checking it out, seeing actual flamingos, uh, you know, on the islands, interacting with them and stuff.So the beach parties are epic. They are pretty fun and people come with family and friends. Like, they really make it into a workation because the hotel gives a group room rate for over a week. So most The people come with family and friends and it becomes into a big, uh, big like networking event, but lots of fun and learning at the same time.Michael: That's nice. What's the hotel that, or is it already kept Minal: out or now? Yeah. Yeah. Everything is, I mean, we are, we are 50 percent full. This is not till July 2024. It's already 50 percent full. so it is in Aruba Marriott and Stellaris. So that's the, that's the hotel and the dates are July 25th to 27th. Michael: Okay.So there's going to be a link to that in the show notes below. And at the same time, if you type in TDM 150, you get a pretty awesome discount. So type that in there, TDM 150, and then that's also going to be in the show notes below as well. But any final pieces of advice, Manal, that you want to give to our audience?Minal: Um, no, like I said, if you're just getting started, keep it simple. Your job should just be to stay consistent. Just, it's just like working out. If you want to get better, you know, if you want to get in a better shape, you just have to show up every day and you just have to work out, right? You can't work out once a week and then don't work out three weeks and then go back to it.So keep it super simple. If you are somebody who has already started it and you are like, yes, I'm ready to. Level up. This is when you start using the trending sound. This is when you start getting more creative. You can use platforms like Canva and CapCut for like your videos and stuff as well.So you could start getting a lot more stuff. And if you're already on it, you're probably much following some of those trends as well. And then, as I said. Be excited about it. Like share those numbers every day or on a monthly basis, create fun meetings for the team so that they're excited about it and they get to see you and they get to see how amazing this is going to be.And they are into it as well. So remember, you are the leader. How you show up for this is how your team's going to show up for this. that's a big part of this. And the practice that I was a marketing ambassador was 25, 000 patients and like 40 team members. So I had a lot of writing on, you know, I have to create all 40 team members to get excited.So it could be done. You can totally do this. Baby steps, just baby steps. Michael: Baby steps. Awesome. So guys, thank you so much for tuning in. It's been a pleasure, but at the same time, and I'll thank you so much for being a part of the podcast. It's been a pleasure too. And at the same time, if you guys want to go in the show notes below.Click on any of our links to reach out to her and then check out CE on the beach in Aruba and type in TDM 150 just to go check out that awesome discount. Okay, it's awesome. Thank you so much for tuning in and we'll talk to you in the next episode Thank you‍

Stephanie is engrossed in Kent Beck's Substack newsletter, which she appreciates for its "working thoughts" format. Unlike traditional media that undergo rigorous editing, Kent's content is more of a work-in-progress, focusing on thought processes and evolving ideas. Joël has been putting a lot of thought into various tools and techniques and realized that they all fall under one umbrella term: analysis. From there, Stephanie and Joël discuss all the productivity tricks they like to use in their daily workflows. Do you have some keyboard shortcuts you like? Are you an Alfred wizard? What are some tools or mindsets around productivity that make YOUR life better? Kent Beck's Substack Tidy First? (https://tidyfirst.substack.com/) Debugging: Listing Your Assumptions (https://thoughtbot.com/blog/debugging-listing-your-assumptions) Dash (https://kapeli.com/dash) Alfred (https://www.alfredapp.com/) Rectangle (https://rectangleapp.com/) Meeter (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/meeter-for-zoom-teams-co/id1510445899) Vim plugins (https://github.com/thoughtbot/dotfiles/blob/main/vimrc.bundles#L32-L50) from thoughtbot's dotfiles, including vim-projectionist () for alternate files Go To Spec VS Code plugin (https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Lourenci.go-to-spec) Feedbin (https://feedbin.com/) Energy Makes Time by Mandy Brown (https://everythingchanges.us/blog/energy-makes-time/) Transcript: AD: Ruby developers, The Rocky Mountain Ruby Conference returns to Boulder, Colorado, on October 5th and 6th. Join us for two days of insightful talks from experienced Ruby developers and plenty of opportunities to connect with your Ruby community. But that's not all. Nestled on the edge of the breathtaking Rocky Mountains, Boulder is a haven for outdoor lovers of all stripes. Take a break from coding. Come learn and enjoy at the conference and explore the charm of Downtown Boulder: eclectic shops, first-class restaurants and bars, and incredible street art everywhere. Immerse yourself in the vibrant culture and the many microbrew pubs that Boulder has to offer. Grab your tickets now at rockymtnruby.dev and be a part of the 2023 Rocky Mountain Ruby Conference. That's rockymtnruby.dev, October 5th and 6th in Boulder. See you there. JOËL: Hello and welcome to another episode of The Bike Shed, a weekly podcast from your friends at thoughtbot about developing great software. I'm Joël Quenneville. STEPHANIE: And I'm Stephanie Minn. And together, we're here to share a bit of what we've learned along the way. JOËL: So, Stephanie, what's new in your world? STEPHANIE: So, I have a new piece of content that I'm consuming lately. That is Kent Beck's Substack [chuckles], Kent Beck of Agile Manifesto and Extreme Programming notoriety. I have been really enjoying this trend of independent content creation in the newsletter format lately, and I subscribe to a lot of newsletters for things outside of work as well. I've been using an RSS feed to like, keep track of all of the dispatches I'm following in that way so that it also kind of keeps out of my inbox. And it's purely just for when I'm in an internet-reading kind of mood. But I subscribed to Kent's Substack. Most of his content is behind a subscription. And I've been really enjoying it because he treats it as a place for a lot of his working thoughts, kind of a space that he uses to explore topics that could be whole books. But he is still in the phase of kind of, like, thinking them through and, like, integrating, you know, different things he's learning, and acknowledging that, like, yeah, like, not all of these ideas are fully fleshed, but they are still worth publishing for people who might be interested in kind of his thought process or where his head is at. And I think that is really cool and very different from just, like, other types of content I consume, where there has been, like, a lot of, especially more traditional media, where there has been, like, more editing involved and a lot of time and effort to reach a final product. And I'm curious about this, like I mentioned, trend towards a little less polished and people just publishing things as they're working through them and acknowledging that the way they're thinking about things can change over time. JOËL: It sounds like this is kind of halfway between a book which has gone through a lot of editing and, you know, a tweet thread, which is pure stream of consciousness. STEPHANIE: Yeah, that's a really great insight, actually. And I think that might be my sweet spot in terms of things I enjoy consuming or reading because I like that room for change and that there is a bit of a, you know, community aspect to Substack where you can comment on posts. But, at least in my experience, has seemed, like, relatively healthy because it is, you know, you're kind of with a community of people who are at least invested or willing to pay [chuckles] for the content. So, there is some amount of good faith involved. His newsletter title itself it's called "Tidy First?" And so, that almost implies that it's, like, something he's still exploring or experimenting with, which I think is really cool. It's not like a I have discovered, like, the perfect way to do things, and, you know, you must always tidy first before you do your software development. He's kind of in the position of, this is what I think works, and this is my space for continuing to refine this idea. JOËL: I'm curious: are there any sort of articles that you've read or just thoughts in general that you've seen from Kent that are particularly impactful or memorable to you? STEPHANIE: Yeah. One I read today during my investment time is called Accountability in Software Development. And it was a very interesting take on the idea of accountability, not necessarily, like, when it's forced by others or external forces like a manager or, you know, your organization, but when it comes from yourself. And he describes it as a way to feel comfortable and confident in the work that he's doing and also building trust in himself and in his work but also in his teams. By being transparent and literally accounting for the things that he's doing and sharing them, communicating them publicly, that almost ends up diminishing any kind of, like, distrust, or shame, or any of those weird kind of squishy things that can happen when you hide those things or, like, hide what you're doing. It becomes a way to foster the good parts of working with other people but not in a necessarily like, resentful way or in a hierarchical way. I was really interested in the idea of accountability, ultimately, like, for yourself, and then that ends up just propagating to the team. JOËL: That's a really interesting topic because I think it sort of sits at the intersection of the personal and the technical. STEPHANIE: Yeah, absolutely. He mentions more technical strategies or tasks that kind of do the same thing. You know, he mentions test-driven development, as well as, like, a way of holding yourself accountable to writing software that, you know, doesn't have bugs in it. So, I think that it can be applied to, you know, exactly both of those, like, interpersonal stuff and also technical aspects too, anyway, that's what's new in my world. Joël, what about you? JOËL: So, this year, I've been putting a lot of thought into a variety of tools and processes. And I think I've come to the realization that they all really fall under one kind of umbrella term, and that would be analysis. It's a common step in some definitions of the traditional software development lifecycle. And it's where you try to after you've kind of gathered the requirements, try to break them down and understand what exactly that means from a technical perspective, what needs to happen. And so, a lot of the things that have been really fascinating to me this year have been different techniques that I can use to become better at that sort of phase. STEPHANIE: Wow. That's very powerful, I think. And honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is, how do you make time for it? JOËL: I think we all do it to a certain extent. You know, you pick up a ticket, and there is a prose description of some work to be done, hopefully not telling you directly, like, just go make a change to this class, but here's a business problem to be solved. And then you have to sort of figure out how to break it down. So, this can be as simple as, oh, what objects, what classes do I need to introduce for this change? But it might be more subtle in terms of thinking, okay, well, what are the edge cases I need to think about? Where are things that could fail, and how am I going to handle failure? So, there's a variety of techniques that you can use to get better at all of these. You can use them kind of at the micro level when thinking about just a ticket. You can use them when working on a larger epic, a larger initiative, a whole project because I think analysis fits into kind of all of these levels. And so, I think those are the techniques that have been most exciting to me this year and that have really connected. STEPHANIE: That is very exciting. It's triggering a lot of thoughts for me about how I incorporate analysis into my work and how that has actually evolved; where I think before, earlier in my career, I assumed that the analysis had been done by someone else who knew better than me or who knew more than me. And that by the time that you know, a piece of work kind of landed in my lap, I was like, okay, well, I just want to know what to do, right? Like, I want someone else to tell me what to do [laughs]. But now I think I have taken it upon myself to do more of that and, like, have realized that it's part of my role. And sometimes it will now be kind of a flag or, like, a signal to me when that hasn't been done. And I can tell when I receive a ticket, and it's, like, maybe missing the business problem or doesn't have enough information. And determining whether that is information that I need to go and find out, or if there's someone else who I can work together with to do that analysis with, or having a better understanding of, like, what is within my realm of analysis to do, and what I need to encourage other people to do analysis for before the work is ready for me. JOËL: I think there is an interesting distinction between more traditional requirements gathering and analysis, where traditional requirements gathering is getting all that business problem information from product people, from customers, things like that. The analysis step is often a little bit more about breaking down a business problem into, like, what are the technical ramifications of that? But there can be a little of a synergy there where sometimes, once you start exploring the technical side of it, it might bring up a lot of edge cases that have impacts on the product side, on the business side. And then you have to go back to the businesspeople and say, "Hey, we only talked about sort of the happy path. What happens if payment is declined? What do we want to do there?" And now we're back in sort of that requirements gathering phase a little bit more rather than purely analysis. But it can come out of an analysis phase where you've done maybe some state machine diagramming to try to better understand how things flow from one phase to another. Or maybe you were building out a truth table for some complex logic and realized, wait a minute, there's an edge case I didn't handle. It's not a strictly linear process. The two kind of feed into each other and, honestly, into the implementation side as well. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I'm with you there. I'm thinking about a piece of work that I've been working on, where we were thinking of doing a database migration and adding some new columns to a table. But the more I dug into it, the more I realized that that was the first idea or the immediate idea that came from a need that I had limited information about. And what was nice was I was able to sit on it for a little bit, get some input from others. And I realized that there were all of these things that I couldn't answer yet. And someone, I think literally asked in a code review if you've already done this analysis, between knowing that these columns will be the kind of extent of what you need versus, you know, will the data end up needing more columns? And should the data model be a little more flexible to that potential change? And they said, "If you had already done this analysis, then, like, otherwise, it looks good to me." And I was like, "Oh, I didn't." [laughs] And that encouraged me to go back to some cross-functional members of the team and ask more questions. And that has taken more time. That was another challenge that I had to encounter was saying like, "Yeah, we started this, and we made some progress. But actually, we need to revisit a few things, like a few parts of the premise, before continuing on." JOËL: Are there any techniques or approaches that you particularly enjoy when it comes to doing an analysis or that maybe are go-to's for you? STEPHANIE: Reminding myself to revisit my assumptions [laughs], or at least even starting by being really clear about what I'm assuming, right? Because I think that has to happen first before you can even revisit them is having an awareness of what assumptions you're making. And I actually think this is where collaboration has been really helpful, where I've been working on this task with another developer on my team. And when we've been talking about it, I found myself saying, "Oh, I'm assuming this," right? Or, like, I'm assuming that the stakeholder knows what they need [laughs]. And that's why we're going to do it this way, where we were kind of given the pieces of data that we should be persisting. And the more that we had that conversation, the more I realized, like, actually, like, I'm not convinced that they have that full picture of, like, what they need in the future. And because we're making this decision now, like, we are turning, you know, literally from, like, the abstract into, like, a concrete change [chuckles] in the database, now seems like...now that we're faced with that decision, it seems like a good time to revisit the assumption that I was making. And that has proved helpful in making ultimately, like, a more informed decision about, like, which way to go technically. But I personally have found a lot of value in verbally processing it with someone else. It's a lot harder for me to identify them, I think, when I'm in my own head. JOËL: That's really interesting that you keyed in on the idea of assumptions. I typically think of assumptions being, like, so important mostly in debugging rather than analysis. In fact, I wrote a whole blog post about why listing your assumptions is so important as part of your debugging process. Now, like, my mind is spinning a little bit. I'm like, oh, I wonder if I could use some of those, like, debugging techniques as part of more of my analysis step. And could that make me better? So, I think you've put me on a whole, like, thought track of, like, oh, how many of these debugging techniques can I use to make my analysis better? So, that's really cool. STEPHANIE: Yeah, and vice versa. So, a few minutes ago, I'd asked you how you make time for that analysis. Because I was thinking that, you know, in my day-to-day work, I'm juggling so many things. I often find myself running out of time and not able to do all of it. And that, I think, leads us really well into our topic for this episode, which is productivity tricks and ways that we make the most use out of our limited time. JOËL: I think I may have a maybe a bit of a controversial opinion on productivity tricks. I feel like a lot of productivity tricks don't actually make me that much faster. Like, maybe I save a couple of minutes a day, maybe 5 or 10 a day with productivity tricks. And, sure, that adds up over the course of a year. But there are other things I could do in terms of, like, maybe better habits, better managing of my schedule that probably have a much more significant impact. Where I think they are incredibly valuable, though, is not directly making me better with my time management but managing my focus, allowing me to kind of keep in the flow and get things done without getting sidetracked. Or just kind of giving me the things that I need in the moment that I need them so that I'm not getting on to a subtask that I don't really need to be doing. STEPHANIE: Yeah. I really like that reframing of what helps you focus because as I was brainstorming ways that I stay on track for my work, I think I ended up discovering a similar theme where it wasn't so much, like, little snippets and tools for me, as opposed to how I structure all of the noise, I guess, in my day-to-day work and being able to see what it is that I need to care about the most right now. JOËL: I think one of the things that I've tried to do for myself is to make it easy to have access to the information and the tools that I need. Probably one of the most useful bits of that is a combination of the documentation viewer Dash and the...I'm not sure what it would be called– launcher, productivity manager tool for Mac. Alfred, with a CMD + Space, it brings up this bar I can type into. And then you can trigger all sorts of things from there. And so I can type the name of a language or some kind of keyword that I have set up and the name of a method. And then, all of a sudden, it'll show me everything like, you know, top five results. And I can hit Enter, and it will bring up the documentation for that. So, if I want to say, oh yeah, what is the order of the arguments for Enumerable's inject method (which I constantly forget)? You know, it's a few keyboard shortcuts, you know, CMD + Space Ruby Enumerable inject. It's fuzzy finding, so I probably don't even need to type all of that. Hit Enter, and I have the documentation right in front of me. So, that makes it so that I can get access to that with very little amount of context shifting. STEPHANIE: Yeah. I like what you said about how the tools are really helping you, like, narrow down, like, the views of, like, what is most important for you in that moment, and it's doing a little bit of that work for you. I think the couple of tools and apps that I actually did want to share are kind of similar. One MacOS app I really like is called Rectangle for windows management, which is really crucial for me because I don't enjoy like, swiping and tabbing between applications. I would much prefer just seeing, usually, just two things. I try to keep my screen limited to two different windows at once because once it gets more than that, I'm already just, like, overwhelmed [laughs]. And as I'm trying to focus a little bit more on just having, like, one thing be the focus of my attention at a time, Rectangle has been really nice in just really quickly being able to do my windows resizing. So, I usually have, like, either things split between my screen half and half. Like, right now, I have your face on my screen as we record this podcast, and then my notes editing software for taking notes about what we talk about. During my development workflow, it's usually, you know, just my editor, my terminal, and then maybe my browser ends up being, like, the thing that I tab into. But I'm able to just, like, set that all up, and as I need those windows to change depending on what my focus has been shifted to, to kind of make more space for whatever I'm reading, or looking at, or processing visually. The keyboard shortcuts that Rectangle...that I have now, you know, ingrained into my fingers [laughs] has been really helpful. It's like, I'm not fussing with just, like, too many things open. JOËL: I have yet to, like, dive into a window manager. I'm still in the clunky world of CMD tabbing. But maybe I should give that a try. STEPHANIE: For me, it has helped even just, like, identify the things that I need to give more space to on my screen and aggressively, like, cut everything else [laughs]. So, that's a really great MacOS app. And then, the other one is actually kind of a similar vein. It's called Meeter, M-E-E-T-E-R. And it has been really helpful for managing my meetings, especially my video call meetings where the video call software that's being used for the meeting may be variable. And also, when I have multiple email addresses that meetings are being sent to, you're able to sign into all of your calendar accounts. And it provides a really nice view of all of your meetings. It has a really, like, minimal, I guess, design in your toolbar, where it shows you how many minutes until your next meeting. And from that toolbar button, you can click to go to the video conferencing software directly for whatever meeting is up next. And you don't have to, you know, scramble to open Google Meet, or Zoom, or Webex, or whatever it is. And that's [chuckles] been nice, again, just kind of, like, cutting down on the amount of stuff that I need to remember and shift through to get to my destination. JOËL: I think I'm hearing kind of two themes emerge out of some of the things that we've shared. And I'd like to maybe explore them a little bit; one is the power of keyboard shortcuts. And I think that's maybe what a lot of us think of when we think of productivity apps, at least developers, right? We love keyboard shortcuts. And then, secondly, I think I'm hearing automation, right? So, you don't have to go through and, like, find that email or calendar link to find the Zoom link or whatever. It shows up in your toolbar. So, maybe we can dig into a little bit of the idea of keyboard shortcuts. Are you a person who like customizes a lot of keyboard shortcuts? And is that a part of your kind of productivity setup? STEPHANIE: Well, a while ago, we had talked about not keyboard shortcuts in the context of productivity, but I think I had mentioned that I was trying to use my mouse less [chuckles] because I was getting a little bit of wrist pain. And I think that actually has rolled into a little bit of, you know, just, like, more efficient navigation on my computer. I think my keyboard shortcut usage is mostly around window management, like I mentioned. I do feel like I have, like, a medium amount of efficiency in my editor. Sometimes, when I'm pairing with other people who use Vim, I'm, like, shook by how fast they're moving. And I have figured out what works for me in VS Code, and I don't think I need to get any faster. You know, I've just accepted that [laughs]. In fact, it's almost, like, the amount of speed and friction that I have, in my experience, is actually a little more beneficial for the speed that my mind works [laughs]. It kind of helps me slow down when I need to think about what I'm doing as opposed to just, like, being able to, like, do anything at my fingertips, and kind of my brain is just not able to think that fast. And then navigating Slack, which is where I also spend a lot of my time on my computer. Now, using Slack with my keyboard shortcuts has been really helpful because, again, I'm not, like, mindlessly browsing or clicking around. I'm just looking at my unread messages. One non-keyboard shortcut I really like with Slack is Command + K, which is the jump-to feature. And so, I'm using that to go to a specific channel that I know I'm looking for or my own personal DMs, where I keep a lot of notes as well. And, honestly, I think that's, like, the extent of my keyboard shortcut usage. I'm curious what your setup is in regards to that, though. JOËL: I think I'm similar to you in that I have not kind of maxed out the productivity around keyboard shortcuts. You'd mentioned the jump to in Slack. Several pieces of software have something kind of like that. It might be some sort of omnibar, or a command palette, or something like that, where you really just need to know...CMD + K, or CMD + P, CTRL + P are common ones. Then you can sort of, like, type a few characters to just describe the thing you want to do, or a search you want to make, or something like that. Just knowing that one keyboard shortcut for your one piece of software gets you, I don't know, 80% of the productivity that you want. It's kind of amazing. I love the idea of an omnibar. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I hadn't heard of omnibar as a phrase before, but that feels very accurate. I like that a lot, too, where it's, like, oftentimes, I don't do whatever particular thing enough necessarily for it to justify a keyboard shortcut, for me at least. I'm still able to be fast enough to get to, like I said, that final destination or the action that I want to take with a more universal shortcut like that. JOËL: In my editor...so I use Vim, and I got used to Vim's keyboard-based navigation. And that is something that I deeply appreciate, maybe not so much for speed but being able to almost kind of feel one with the machine. And the cursor moves around, and I don't have to, like, think about moving it. It's really a magical sort of feeling. And it's become so much muscle memory now that I can just sort of...the cursor jumps around, things change out. And I'm not, like, constantly thinking about it to the point where now, if I'm in any other editor, I really want to get those shortcuts or, I guess, maybe not shortcuts but a Vim-style navigation, keyboard-based navigation. STEPHANIE: Yeah, it sounds like it's not so much the time savings but the power that you have or the control that you have over your tools. JOËL: Yes. And I think, again, the idea of focus. Navigation has stopped becoming a thing where I have to actively think about it. And I feel like I really do just sort of think my fingers are on the keyboard. I'm not having to, like, do a physical motion where I switch my hands. Like, I'm typing, and I'm writing code, then I have to switch my hand away to a mouse to shift around or, like, move my hand off the home row to, like, find the arrow keys and, like, move around. I just kind of think, and the cursor jumps up. It's great. Maybe I'd be the same if I'd put a lot of time into getting really good at, you know, maybe arrow-based navigation. I still think the mouse you have to move your hand off. It breaks just in the tiniest little way the flow. So, for me, I really appreciate being fully keyboard-based when I'm writing code. STEPHANIE: Right. Being one with the keyboard. As you were talking about that, I very viscerally felt, you know, when you encounter a new piece of technology, and you're trying to navigate it for the first time, and you're like, wow, like, that takes so much mental overhead that it's, you know, just completely disruptive to the goal that you're trying to achieve with the software itself. JOËL: Yeah, it is a steep learning curve. So, we've talked about custom keyboard shortcuts in the editor. But it's common for people to augment their editor with plugins, maybe even some kind of, like, snippet manager to maybe expand snippets or to paste common pieces in. Is that something that you've done in your editor setup? I think you said you use VS Code as your sort of daily editor. STEPHANIE: Yeah, that's right. I actually think I almost forgot about some of my little bits of automation because they are just so spelled for me [laughs] that I don't have to think about them. But you prompting me just now reminded me that there are a few that I'd like to shut out. Snippets-wise, I mostly use them for when I'm writing tests and just having the it blocks or the context blocks expand out for me so I don't have to do any of that typing of the setup there. And since I do use a terminal outside of my editor...I know that some people really like kind of having that integrated and being able to run tests even faster without having to switch to a different application, but I like having them separate. There is a really great plugin called Go to Spec where you can be in any, you know, application code file, and it will pull up the spec file for you. I've been really enjoying that, and that is what helps my test writing be a little more automated, even though I'm having it in separate applications. JOËL: That is really useful. So, as a Vim user, I also have a plugin that does something similar, where I can switch to what's considered the alternate for a particular file, which is typically the spec, or if I'm in the spec, it'll switch to the source file that the spec is testing. STEPHANIE: And then, I do have one really silly one, which is that I got so sick and tired of not remembering how to, you know, type the symbols for string interpolation in Ruby that has also become a snippet where the hash key and the [inaudible 28:48] brackets can [laughs] populate it for me. JOËL: I love it. So, Stephanie, I'd like to go back to something you were talking about earlier in the show. When you were sharing about what was new in your world and, you mentioned that you subscribe to the Substack and that you subscribe to, actually, a lot of newsletters, and you said something that really caught my attention. You were saying that you don't want these all cluttering up your email inbox. And instead, you send all of these to an RSS reader application. What kind of application do you like to use? STEPHANIE: I use Feedbin for this. And I actually think that this was recommended by Chris Toomey back in the day on a previous Bike Shed episode before you and I hosted the show. But that has been really awesome. It has a just, like, randomly generated email address you can use when you sign up for newsletters. You use that instead. And I really like having that distinction because I honestly treat my email inbox as a bit of a to-do list, where I am archiving or deleting a lot of stuff. And then the things that remain in my inbox are things that I need to either respond to, or do, or get back to in some way. And then yeah, when I've completed it, then that's when I archive or delete. But now that we do have all this great content back in email form, I needed a separate space for that, where I similarly kind of treat it as, like, a to-read list. And yeah, like, I look at my unreads in the newsletter RSS reader that I'm using and go through that when I'm in a blog-reading kind of mood. JOËL: I really like that separation because I'm kind of like you. I treat my inbox as a to-do list. And it's hard to have newsletters come in and, like, I'm not ready to read them. But I don't want them in my to-do, or, like, they'll just kind of sit there and get mixed in and maybe, like, filtered down to the bottom. So, having that explicit separation to say, hey, here's the place I go to when I am in a reading mood, then I can read things. I think there's also I've sort of trained myself to only check my email during certain times. So, for example, I will not check my work email outside of working hours. But if I'm on the subway going somewhere and I've got some time where I could do some reading, it would probably be a good thing to be going through some kind of newsletter or something like that. So, I either have to remember to go back to it, or what I tend to do is just scroll Twitter and hope that someone has shared that link, and then I read it there, which is not a particularly effective way of doing things. So, I might try the RSS feed reader tool. What was it called? STEPHANIE: Feedbin. JOËL: Feedbin. All right, I might try to get into that. STEPHANIE: Yeah, I look forward to hearing if that ends up working for you because I agree, having the two separate spaces has been really helpful because I don't want to get distracted by my email/to-do list inbox if I'm just wanting to do a bit of reading, enjoy some content. So, one more theme around productivity that I don't think we've quite mentioned yet, but maybe we've talked a little bit around, is the idea that it's, at least for me, it's a product of time and energy. So, even if you have all the time in the world, you know, you can just stare into space or, like, stare at a line of code and not get [laughs] anything done. JOËL: I know the feeling. STEPHANIE: Right? I am kind of curious how or if you have any techniques for managing that aspect. When your focus is low like, how can you kind of get that back so that you can get back to doing your tasks or getting what you need to do done? JOËL: If I have the time, taking a break is a really powerful thing, particularly taking a break and doing something physical. So, if I can go outside and take a walk around the block, that's really helpful. And if I need a shorter thing that can be done in, like, five minutes or something, I have a pull-up bar set up in my place. So, I'll just go up and do a few sets there and get a little bit of the heart rate slightly up, do a little bit of blood pumping. And that sometimes can help reset a little bit. STEPHANIE: Nice. Yes, I'm all for doing something else [chuckles]. Even when you know that this is a priority or is kind of urgent or whatever, but you just can't get yourself to do it, I've found that asking myself the question, "What would make this task easier for me right now?" has been helpful during those moments. And, for me, that might be grabbing a friend, like, maybe I'm blocked because I'm really just unmotivated. But having someone along can kind of inject some of that energy for me. And then, there's a really great blog post by a woman named Mandy Brown. It's called Energy Makes Time. And she talks about how doing the things that fill our cup, actually, you know, even though it seems like how could we possibly have time to be creative, or, like you said, maybe do something physical, those seem, like, lower on the priority list. But when you kind of get to the point where you just feel so overwhelmed and can't do anything else, and you just go do those things that you know feel good for you, you kind of come back with a renewed perspective on your to-do list. And you can see, like, what things actually aren't that critical and can be taken off. Or you just find that you have the capacity or the energy to get the things that you are really dreading out of the way. So, that has been really helpful when I just am feeling blocked. Instead of, like, feeling bad about how unproductive [chuckles] I'm being, I take that as a sign of an opportunity to do something else that might set me up for success later. JOËL: Yeah. I think oftentimes, it's easy to think of productivity in terms of, like, how can I maybe eliminate some tasks that are not high value through clever automation, or keyboard shortcuts, or things like that? But oftentimes, it can be more about just sort of managing your focus, managing your energy. And by doing that, you might have a much higher impact on both how productive you feel—because that's an important thing as well, in terms of motivation—and, you know, how productive you actually are at getting things done. STEPHANIE: Right. At least for me, like, not all TDM is bad and needs to be automated away, but, like, my ability to, like, handle it in the moment. Whereas yeah, sometimes maybe I've just run the same few lines that should be just a script [chuckles], that should just be, you know, one command, enough times that I'm like, oh, like, I can't even do this anymore because of just, like, other things going on. But other times, like, it's really not a big deal for me to just, you know, run a few extra commands. And, like, that is perfectly fine. JOËL: I love writing a good Vim macro. Yeah. So, it's important to think beyond just the fun tools and the code that we can write. Kind of think a little bit more at that energy and that mental level. That said, there are a ton of great tools out there. We've named-dropped a bunch of them in this episode. For our listeners who are wondering or who weren't, like, necessarily taking notes, we've linked all of them in the show notes: bikeshed.fm. You can find them there. STEPHANIE: On that note, shall we wrap up? JOËL: Let's wrap up. STEPHANIE: Show notes for this episode can be found at bikeshed.fm. JOËL: This show has been produced and edited by Mandy Moore. STEPHANIE: If you enjoyed listening, one really easy way to support the show is to leave us a quick rating or even a review in iTunes. It really helps other folks find the show. JOËL: If you have any feedback for this or any of our other episodes, you can reach us @_bikeshed, or you can reach me @joelquen on Twitter. STEPHANIE: Or reach both of us at hosts@bikeshed.fm via email. JOËL: Thanks so much for listening to The Bike Shed, and we'll see you next week. ALL: Byeeeeee!!!! ANNOUNCER: This podcast is brought to you by thoughtbot, your expert strategy, design, development, and product management partner. We bring digital products from idea to success and teach you how because we care. Learn more at thoughtbot.com.

Where are you in your customer journey? Just starting out, filled with unbridled optimism for how your business is going to change the world? Or perhaps you're in the valley of despair, where your optimism has been met with founded pessimism, and you're stuck in the daily hustle, trying to pay the bills with no time for the bigger picture?Etan Polinger is further along in his journey: he has reached the peak of informed optimism having a bumper quarter, bringing in $50Ks worth of additional revenue for one client alone, just by reviewing their sales data.In today's episode Etan is sharing his journey, from being overwhelmed and treading water to now being able to take the time out (one whole day!) to chat to his client's customers in-store and develop an avatar based on his field research. Learn about the 'modern marketer' in this highly entertaining conversation between Mark and Etan, as they explore the ethics of marketing and an AI future where strategic management holds the key to your survival as you teach the machines to automate your ideas.Etan's partnership with TDM has allowed him to become more intentional with the clients he chooses to work with, operating as a fractional CMO and taking on bigger contracts. Part of the strategic map for getting you out of the valley of despair can be found in this episode and by applying the tools of The DigitalMarketer Agency Accelerator Program. Please join us. Etan Polinger is the founder of Prosperous Media, a digital marketing company specializing in SEO, Search Engine Marketing, Lead Generation, Social Media Marketing, and more. Etan is enjoying increased success as a Certified Partner of The DigitalMarketer Agency Accelerator Program. Key Takeaways:01:24 How the Certified Partner has helped Etan with his entrepreneurial journey02:40 Unlocking a process that leads to informed optimism04:36 Learning to trust that TDM's Certified Partner framework of tools will work05:49 Unpacking the tools: a systemized way to sell your services08:20 Articulating the shift that has happened for Etan in Q1 '2310:20 Working with the Strategic Map to grow your business13:06 Becoming more intentional with the clients you choose to work with15:00 Learning how to delegate: listening to the simple advice16:00 Strategic management as a route to secure your marketing future18:27 How Etan is giving his clients the infrastructure they need so they have the tools themselves19:10 The ethics of marketing: understanding your marketing function (cohesion and integration)23:53 Understanding your customer demographic: chatting to the customer in-store25:25 Understanding who your message is for by talking to the customer first30:09 Etan as a 'modern marketer': Mark coins a new term! 31:17 Take action: identify where you are in your journey (are you in the valley of despair?)Connect with Etan Polinger :LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/etan-polingerWebsite - https://prosperousmedia.us/Be sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn:...

Episode 143: The Top Dads take on New York City and fair better than Kevin McAlister or at least the wet bandits. Time Square, The Statue of Liberty, Parks & Playgrounds, Central Park Zoo, and more street food than a kid could imagine. New York will never be the same after a TDM and TDK take over! Bonus Tip:How much R rated stuff did the Top Kids see in NYC?Thank you for listening and taking this journey with us. Please follow us on social media for great Top Dad tips, tricks, jokes, and hacks. TopDadpod.comWant to help the show?The best way to help the Top Dad podcast is to share our podcasting gold with your friends and family or consider leaving a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and following us on Spotify.Listen to Top Dad for free wherever you listen to podcasts or go to TopDadpod.com for all our socials and contact information.  

How much do you as a marketer value that first meeting? Simply put, if you can't sell a meeting, you can't sell your product. So it all starts with what happens at that first meeting! Kevin Barber is the Founder and Head of Growth at Lean Labs and he's emphasizing the seemingly obvious point that you need to be able to sell the meeting to sell your service. Together with host Mark de Grasse, Kevin is offering the TDM audience some rapid-fire solutions to establishing a quick win from that first meeting, getting past that 'first dollar problem', and then building a trusting relationship with a customer.And if it then doesn't work out at that first consult, chances are the client will have friends and can make referrals. So get that meeting!Other proactive solutions offered include providing market insights rather than talking about what you can offer (and how great you are). Or better yet, have a low-risk offer with a ‘one week win' to build trust. As is customary with TDM these days, there's talk of AI and here again Kevin has some insights and terminology that host Mark de Grasse reckons he should trademark. Is it AI (Artificial Intelligence) or IA (Intelligence Augmentation)? Kevin shares how his company is using AI to produce stellar results for his clients by saving him and his team time at the conceptual stages of any project. So, from articulating the goals of that first meeting to articulating your Intelligence so that AI can Augment it, it's all here on today's episode that is a guaranteed "quick win". Kevin Barber is the Head of Growth @ Lean Labs and a mentor to 50+ High Growth Companies. He is also a M3 member at DigitalMarketer.Key Takeaways:01:33 If you can't sell a meeting, you can't sell your product02:50 Having a low-risk offer with a quick win to build trust05:00 The value of a switch offer that gets you past that 'first dollar problem'06:30 Understanding that the goal of the meeting is to give them a new perspective09:34 TIP: Shifting from articulating what's great about you to providing market insights13:23 How does Kevin get a six-figure client the 'one week win'? 17:55 Understanding what a 'win' means for the client22:34 How is Kevin integrating AI into his business? 25:32 Is it AI (Artificial Intelligence) or IA (Intelligence Augmentation)? 30:52 Kevin shares a practical use of AI in his businessConnect with Kevin Barber :Website - https://www.thekevinbarber.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thekevinbarber/Be sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization AgencyGet 50% Off Monthly Blog Writing Service - BKA Content More...

What is brand science? What brand do you reach for first when you stop at a gas station? And how much of a role does your mental availability play in that decision? Creating the right sensory experiences through brand exposure to improve memory association is discussed by Stæven in this fascinating episode as he offers up practical ways to implement brand science in your business. Stæven Frey is the 'adorkable' founder and chief brand scientist at Quantum Branding and he is super passionate about helping everyday companies without the big budgets of Coca-Cola figure out their brand assets and apply a simple scientific methodology to assess and articulate your brand's most distinct characteristics.This starts with a Brand Checklist (see link below), and from there we can really begin to appreciate our brand's sensory assets and build out a brand and marketing platform that is congruent and cohesive. Learn about Jungian archetypes, the customer feedback loop, what we know, and what we suspect is coming (with AI) in this TDM episode which emphasizes the importance of understanding your own brand strategy in a sensory world. BrandScience™ is an insightful, evidence-based metric that will change how your company competes in the marketplace, taking you to a whole new level and getting you measurable results. Since 2004, Quantum has been crafting authentic and memorable brands that outperform the competition, rise beyond the status quo, and deliver iron-clad results. For more information, please visit Quantum Branding.Key Takeaways:01:54 What is brand science and what does it mean for marketers?07:25 How can we implement brand science? 13:30 The Brand Science Checklist – understanding our brand assets24:50 Why 'unseen is unsold' – building relevant brand associations 29:00 How to build your brand platform using your brand assets32:15 Jungian archetypes as they apply to marketing (and Snickers)35:40 Understanding 'light' versus 'heavy' buyers37:30 Design congruence and how consumers are looking for brand cues40:00 Understanding the feedback loop of a customer's brand experience 43:10 How is customizable AI shifting the brand experience? Connect with Stæven Frey :Website - https://www.quantumbranding.agency/ Stæven's 10 Week Course - https://www.quantumbranding.agency/brandpreneur/Download the Brand Science Checklist - https://www.quantumbranding.agency/brand-science-checklist/Be sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics -...

Episode 142: Back to School shopping spree with the Top Dads! Rulers, pencils, erasers, and fancy AI calculators. Back to school shopping is a ploy by parents to ease our children into the new school year, and you know what it works! Bonus Tip: Do you need a digital note-taking device... TDM gives you a full breakdown. Thank you for listening and taking this journey with us. Please follow us on social media for great Top Dad tips, tricks, jokes, and hacks. TopDadpod.comWant to help the show?The best way to help the Top Dad podcast is to share our podcasting gold with your friends and family or consider leaving a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and following us on Spotify.Listen to Top Dad for free wherever you listen to podcasts or go to TopDadpod.com for all our socials and contact information.  

How are you talking about your products and services on your podcast? And are you doing it in a way that makes the listener want to learn more about what you're offering? Kevin Chemidlin is the Founder of Grow The Show podcast, and he's offering some highly practical tips on how to monetize your podcast. Kevin has over 400 clients who he has helped 10x their listener base and monetize right away, just by following some pretty simple podcast strategies. The first step is establishing congruency between your podcast and your offering, and once you've accomplished that you can look at your Call To Action.Whereabouts in your show should your Call To Action appear? Should it be your (the host's) voice and how long should it be? And what is it exactly that you are selling? Just selling the simplest next step in the sales funnel is just one of the smart pieces of advice that Kevin has to offer in this episode of TDM that is for all you podcast hosts out there who are looking to "grow the show".Kevin Chemidlin is the Founder of Grow The Show podcast. As promised, "the link will be in the show notes" and here it is: https://growthe.show/masterclass. Key Takeaways:01:25 How does Kevin advise his clients on converting listeners into buyers?04:12 How feasible is it to adapt an existing show to attract customers?06:11 What Call To Action strategy does Kevin recommend? 07:38 Just selling the next step in the funnel12:46 How should a host insert a Call To Action? 15:52 Recommended Call To Action pro tips21:40 Should your podcast voice be the same as the CTA?Connect with Kevin Chemidlin:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kevinchemidlin/?hl=enWebsite - https://growtheshow.com/If you are looking for ways to 10x your podcast audience that doesn't burn you out, and turn your listeners into buyers, check out Grow The Show. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization AgencyGet 50% Off Monthly Blog Writing Service - BKA Content More Resources from Scalable[Free Guide & Assessment] 7 Levels of ScaleFREE EPIC Challenge More Shows You'll LovePerpetual Traffic - The #1 podcast for learning paid traffic and improving your conversions!

Are you focusing on one Key Performance Indicator at a time to not muddy the water you're marketing in? Are you making the mistake of ‘channel chasing' and trying to spread your product and marketing across a host of social media platforms just for the sake of it? In other words, are you moving from one platform to the next to solve a problem, instead of addressing your positioning?The best product won't save bad marketing. And bad marketing won't save the best product. We can start there. No tool is going to fix the problem of having a product no one wants to buy. So, how are you achieving proof of concept in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible? If you can sell organically, you get immediate feedback and validation. As the Lifetime Value of a customer becomes paramount, and as we grow tired of buying crappy products that don't last off drop shipping sites with poor lead times and bad reviews, it's more important than ever to nail down the e-commerce basics before falling for all the Shopify Tool ads that tell you it's as easy as a ‘drag and drop' to become an online millionaire. Scott's pragmatic advice will ensure you don't go quitting your day job just yet, as the fundamentals of growing your business online are established in this, the first of a series of many interviews with TDM's merchant master. Scott Cunningham is the Founder of Merchant Mastery, producing $150 million in sales for Shopify stores last year alone. He is also TDM's e-commerce master and head of their e-commerce certification. In today's chat with host Mark de Grasse, they are clearing up some of e-commerce's biggest misconceptions.Scott Cunningham is the Founder of Merchant Mastery. He is also the Founder and CEO of Social Lite, a Shopify Partner sales and marketing agency that has helped hundreds of Shopify merchants around the globe scale their revenue with Facebook Ads, Google Ads, email marketing, and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).Key Takeaways:02:30 What are some of the biggest misconceptions about e-commerce? 05:45 Understanding Proof of Concept09:25 The importance of focusing on one KPI at a time11:45 Unpacking ROAS (Return On Advertising Spend)15:40 Appreciating the lifetime value of the customer17:55 Are you ‘channel chasing'? 23:30 What budget misconceptions do people have about e-commerce?26:00 Getting product validation early on, as cheaply as possible31:05 Product misconceptions: how are you presenting your product to the world?36:19 The trend of high-value products, marketing, and increased client retentionConnect with Scott Cunningham:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/merchantmastery/?hl=enTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@merchantmasteryYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/MerchantMastery?app=desktopBe sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:

Eric is giving all of our listeners a 30 Day Free Trial! Just type in the coupon code "TDM" at the end of onboarding and you'll receive this exclusive offer!Click this link to get started! https://www.joinordo.com/‍‍Guest: Eric AppelsiesBusiness Name: OrdoCheck out Eric's Media:‍Website: https://www.joinordo.com/Email: eric@joinordo.com‍‍Other Mentions and Links:HPSP ScholarshipBank of AmericaWells FargoInvisalignHenry ScheinDarbyNet 32Open DentalGoogle AdsPositioning - Jack Trout and Al Ries‍‍Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society‍‍My Key Takeaways:Acquiring an already established practice can be tough when it comes to updating systems and processes!When hiring, be sure to utilize your internal team members and their connections.Try to hone in on 1 or 2 marketing tactics rather than all of them at once.Always have great communication and expectations set with your marketing team.Having an identifier on your phone calls for new and existing patients will streamline your patient acquisition.When ground marketing, make sure you attend the events your target demographic will be at!‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]‍p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.‍Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)Michael: All right. It's time to talk with our featured guest, Dr. Eric Apsey. Eric, how's it going, Eric: man? Doing well. How are you doing? Pretty Michael: good. Pretty good. If you don't mind me asking, Eric: where are you located? I am in Denver, actually, in like the suburbs. Michael: Okay, nice, nice. It's gonna be good weather out there for here for like the rest of the Eric: summer or?Yeah, I think we've heard it's supposed to be, I've read something that was supposed to be hot, but also pretty wet, so it's been a weird, we actually had a pretty, our winters are normally pretty mild. I've been out here like maybe five, six years. This last winter was a rougher winter in terms of snow, and it's been a little bit yeah, it's been a little bit wetter of a spring too than normal, which, you know, like everyone says, you know, you could always use rain, right?I feel like that's what everyone always says, but yeah, I mean, it's normally. Pretty dry here, so it's not a bad thing. So, yeah. Michael: Oh, okay, man. Awesome. So let's jump into it. Let's, I'm gonna ask you a couple questions, all right. Mainly based off of your marketing. So number one, could you briefly introduce your dental practice and the demographic you primarily Eric: serve?Yeah, so I actually, I have two dental practices in Denver. One's in like the kind of south metro area. One's in like the North Metro area, so maybe 30 miles or so apart. Both of them are de Novo offices. The one down south opened in 2017, the one up north in 2019. And the demographics that we primarily serve at the one down south it's a little bit more of an established community.So we see. More adults, empty nesters, not quite as many children. And then up at the north location that's more of a growing and emerging kind of area. Lots of new builds and stuff like that. So we're seeing a lot of younger families there too. So we tend, we tend to see more kids in kind of family age at that location.How Michael: far apart are they normally? Eric: Like those practices? Yeah, about thir, about 30 miles. So, I mean, it takes, depends on traffic, right? But yeah, it can take anywhere, say around 30, 35 minutes apart. Michael: Was that always the goal for you? Like, I want two practices, or was it, I it just started happening.Eric: Yeah, I mean initially, so my, my little backstory, my wife is also a dentist, right? We met in dental school and everything and we always kind of wanted to have at least a couple offices. we love the dentistry part too, but we also like the idea of building our own stuff as well and being able to like create our own vision with our dental practices.So we always knew we kind of wanted multiple ones. And then, I mean, one nice thing is my wife actually was the one that kind of started up. The one down south and was kind of the main driver in there, was the one up north. I was too. So, I mean, kinda the reason we were able to do two is there's just two of us, right?Mm-hmm. So we were able to kind of divide and conquer. So, yeah. Oh, okay. Gotcha, Michael: gotcha. so for you, was that always the goal? Like, I wanna do my own practice? Eric: Yeah. I mean, so my journey was after I graduated dental school 2013. Right. And then I ended up doing like a scholarship with the Navy, like the H P S P scholarship.And was in the Navy for four years until 2017. During that time my wife and I had actually bought kind of an old Practice from, you know, an old dentist that really wasn't doing much and kind of fix and flip that. So we had done an acquisition when I was in the military and then from that experience we had said, you know, there were a lot of, there's a lot of challenges with buying a practice that doesn't have like good systems in place and you're just getting it kind of just cheap.So that kind of made us realize, hey, maybe if when we do this again, cause we weren't gonna stay in California where I was stationed, let's look in doing our own thing and doing it from scratch so we can kind of like, you know, create our own vision. Michael: Gotcha. Shit. What challenges were there that you can just think of right now where it's like, man, I don't know, like for acquisitions, if somebody's like, Hey man, I wanna do an acquisition, the first things you wanna let them know Eric: is what, My only experience is buying a practice. So like it was, I think the practice was doing maybe like $360,000, right? It was an old dentist who needed to retire for, you know, certain medical reasons. And so that's my only experience there. So I don't really have any experience if it was like a, you know, a 2 million practice or a really, you know, well ran practice.But from that, The one pro was, yeah, it was really inexpensive to buy. So like going out and getting a bank loan from B of A or Wells Fargo was pretty easy. Right. But it comes with a lot of challenges. Cause you know, obviously with the practice not being that strong of an office. From a production standpoint, made it challenging, more challenging with staff, right?When you wanna put your processes in place. They'd been there for 30 years, right? So we had a lot of challenges. The dentist wasn't honestly the greatest to transition with. There were challenges there too. So even though sometimes I think if you were doing an acquisition and you were trying to do something like we were, where it's like, Hey, I'll buy a practice that's like a cheap practice that looks like it's a gem, right?A lot of times there's a reason that it's a cheaper practice to buy and it wasn't doing well. So, I mean, there, yeah, there were a lot of challenges. So that, that, like, from that, I would say that's You can go into it and do it. Just don't expect, just because it was cheap that it's gonna be like easy at all.It's gonna have a lot of challenges with it as well. Michael: Yeah, I always hear it's like the team where it's like really hard to bring them on board and stuff like that. Eric: Yeah, definitely. Just because like I said, so the other challenge is we did that when, what my wife and I were like, Late twenties. Right. So, you know, and the, the, the team that was all there were in their fifties.Right. So it was a challenge. It, it is a challenge when you're trying to transition from a dentist who's older, had been there forever, the team has been there forever. And then, you know, the new owners or new doctors come in and they're the age of like, That those team members' children, right. So mm-hmm.It was very challenging to get them on board and get that level of respect. that was probably a big challenger. Right? Yeah, Michael: no, definitely, definitely. I get you. Okay, so then number two, in which category would you place your practice? Was it urban, suburban, rural, D s L, private practice, solo, docker, et cetera?Eric: So let's just start the one down south. So that's in a, it's in a suburb area, right? A pretty well established suburb area. It's private practice, right? Cause my, my wife and I own it. There, we have one associate dentist there right now, and a couple hygienists. It's mainly a general, it's a general practice.All the docs that work there are general dentists, but our associate is great with, you know, kind of being a. The super general dentist, right? Like mm-hmm. Enjoys doing third molar extractions, sedation some root canals adult ortho or aligners. All that kind of stuff.So it does help us that we brought on associates who like to do a lot more than I guess what you would typically say a general dentist would do. And then the other location up north. I'm working there. I have another associate doctor that works there as well. Same thing, private practice. And kind of suburb area, but like a growing suburb area.So like a lot of residential, but not really a lot of commercial spaces there yet. So that, that's been really, I'm, I'm glad we kind of made that decision where we picked that location. It's, it's worked out well. And same thing he likes to do, you know, he had gotten the G P R, so he got extra training, which was great.So when we brought him on, he already was comfortable with, you know, all extractions, third molars, sedation, kind of the same stuff as the associate that we have down south. Gotcha. Okay. Michael: Well, how did you find your Eric: associates? kind of a good story. So, the first associate we had just kind of put an ad out, right?And he had reached out to us that he was graduating from his G P R and was moving out to Denver. So, met him, had a, you know, great interview, brought him on, and then my office up north had been growing a lot and this was probably 2021, beginning of 2022. My practice up north was growing a lot and just to expand services and do some of the things that I didn't do as a dentist, I wanted to bring an associate on too that had a wider scope of what they wanted to do.And so my associate down south. he had a friend from dental school who was finishing who was actually working out here had finished his G P R at the same time as that associate down there. Was working a job and just really wasn't that happy. And so it was kind of like an, like a, I didn't have to do any marketing or I didn't have to go through LinkedIn or reach out to people because we had a good relationship with this associate down south.He pretty much said, Hey, I have a buddy who is looking for a new job. I went to school with him. I already know him. It's good. He's a good guy. And so, you know, we were able to bring him on. So, I think that just showed finding, you know, good associates, building good connections with them. That was great that we were able to find another associate just internally, right?Mm-hmm. Versus having to go out and interview a bunch of people, and that's worked out great too. Gotcha. Michael: Okay. So you kind of, you, do you always leave it open like as in the sense of like you let your associates know, or your team know like, Hey guys, we're always looking for applicants SMAs or no Eric: on for associate?It probably just depends on, it's all in like capacity issues, right? So right now it, both offices we're pretty like stable where we're at and still growing. But I haven't hit that next point to where. I'm having such a hard time getting patients in for months and months and months that I need another producer right now.I think it's, like you said, it's always good to just keep the door open and just say, Hey, we're continuing to grow. We want to grow as we do, we're gonna need more providers. So, if you know people like, always share the word about your experience here. But like actively all the time.No, and that's just based on like I said, we're pretty stable on the providers we have. Gotcha. Michael: Okay. Good man, that's awesome. That's a great way to, uh, you know what I mean, continue to get like associates, especially like, you know what I mean, within your own internal team. Eric: Yeah, yeah. It was great. Cause they all, they already knew each other, right?So when we do meetings and we do things with them and help them grow, it's nice because they already had an existing relationship and so it just, it just creates a really good environment. Michael: Yeah. No, no, no. I, I agree. So then what has been your experience with different marketing companies and which strategies have proved to be the most effective?Eric: Yeah, good question. So experience with different marketing companies. I think probably a lot of the same challenges that a lot of the listeners have here too, you know, I've had as well, it's, marketing. I feel it is such a soft science, right? And it's very easy. To get suckered into companies who we promise you X amount of new patients in this time or your money back, and it's very gim.It can be very, very gimmicky. okay, so going back to the beginning when we had the practice back in California, right? We just kind of did some research, went and saw who had good reviews, marketing agencies picked one who promised kind of the world, That didn't really get delivered after, we noticed after a few months.And so we're like, all right, well that's not really gonna work. And so we had challenges even then when we moved out to, Colorado out here. You know, we had gone through two, three different marketing companies that, first, everything seems great. And then push all these different kind of avenues to grow and do all that.And then when you start trying to track things and figure things out, you're finding that you're maybe not getting the same returns that were promised. So honestly the thing that's really worked for us recently is kind of just going back to the basics a little bit. And so the current marketing company that we use, We're just honing really in and from like a, a digital perspective of just doing Google Ads, making sure we're ranking really well, and that we have really good reviews.We were just finding, with when tracking right on where our new patients were coming from, so many of a majority were coming from, Hey, you guys, you know, rank high and you guys had really good reviews, And that's what everyone was saying. So we listened to what our customers were saying.That's how they were finding us. And so we just kind of doubled down and really focused in on that. And it made it a lot easier because we didn't, now, we don't have, now, I don't have to track direct mailers like I was in the past. I don't have to do as much ground marketing as I was in the past and track all these different things.We were able to just hone in on a couple things, make sure they're done really, really well, and it's worked Michael: nice. Okay. Right now. Could you tell us the name of your marketing company, Eric: the one you're using right now? So I use a guy who is based overseas actually, and it's his name is eSSH.He works with a lot of general practices, works with DSOs as well too. So yeah, that's, that's who I'm using. And that was just from internal referrals from other friends. But yeah, and I haven't really seen a drop off. I mean, at first you're kind of scared sometimes cause you're like, oh, you know, you're outsourcing stuff and you're outsourcing it overseas.But, honestly, the cost has dropped down a bit and I've seen no drop or possibly even a little bit of an increase in the number of new patients I've seen. So, you know, I was hesitant at first, but honestly it no complaints. Michael: Gotcha. Okay. When it came to the marketing companies that promised the world, how long did you stick with them?Eric: Yeah. I mean, you always wanna stick a little bit, right? Mm-hmm. Like, you don't wanna be one of those people that just switches after a month or two. We would give it a good, say, six months to a year. Especially because a lot of them, we're pushing direct mailers, right? And so in the beginning we used direct mailers a lot.Like that is what we did. It's expensive. Mm-hmm. And, the whole proposition on that was, well, you know, you gotta hit the consumer three, four or five times with like, same messaging, all that kind of stuff. You gotta put, deals in for place for them, all that kind of stuff. And, you know, you do get calls for 'em.So a lot of times we would wait with a marketer to at least do that first round of direct mail because we didn't wanna like commit and then back out halfway through. But I mean, usually within a first, the first few months little red flags we would notice were, that they weren't tracking the KPIs for us or any type of roi, right?Mm-hmm. On what we were getting. You know, communication was poor. It was almost like they spent a lot of time trying to get me. And then once they had me as a customer, it was kind of like just, okay, now we'll push 'em off, right? Mm-hmm. And so those were some red flags that I had noticed were just, yeah, it was, it was great in the beginning, but after a couple months you're like, all right, well this guy's not responding anymore.You know? He used to respond every, you know, and within 30 minutes and now it's a few days, and so yeah, those are some of the red flags I kind of noticed. Michael: Gotcha. Okay. And then how much budget do you typically allocate for your marketing Eric: activities? Yeah, so budgeting, like I said right now, because we're really focused in on just a few things.Our ad spend, it is dependent on where you live too, right? Mm-hmm. And how expensive, AdWords are and stuff. But we're spending anywhere from like, say two to three grand a month in ad spend and then just a management fee. Um, That's pretty small to the marketer that I use. So maybe all in for each office we're spending maybe.Three grand at one, four grand at the other, say. And we're seeing on average, say 60 to 80 new patients probably for each office which, happy with. Michael: Yeah, that's really good. So you're getting around a month, 60 to 80 Eric: new patients? Yeah. Each office. Yeah. Got it. Like for e not total. Each office gets between that.Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Michael: So like in total it would be like 160 kind of thing, Eric: right? Like yeah, probably anywhere from, say like, One 30 to one 50 if you averaged it. Probably around there. Yeah. Okay. Michael: On can you tell your highest months? Yeah, I knew we got that much cuz we were spending, or we were doing this or we were doing that, or, or you can't really tell.I mean, Eric: I'm trying, so I was looking back at that our, our biggest month ever was, we've had a couple times that we've gone over a hundred at the location that's up north. Some of that has been, it, it really wasn't that we spent more in ad spend that month. We just had a lot of openings and we had a lot of open capacity at the office.So kind of the issues that I'm starting to run in now is, you know, I'm getting say 60 to 80 new patients, but, just based on the size of the office. a new patient calls, we always try to get 'em in within the week, but I mean, we're starting to book out more so in my head we, I could probably get more new patients in.I'm just running into a capacity issue. So the reason I was able to see a hundred that one month is we just had a lot of openings in that June for some reason. And so we were able just to fill in tons of new patients there. So the positive. From that on my perspective is if I feel like I pushed it harder and either, extended hours or opened up a new operatory, did something like that and created more space to see more patients, then I could, probably get even more new patients in.So yeah, that's probably why we had that higher number. Michael: Gotcha. Okay. Okay. So it was more slots open, available in the schedule. Exactly. Exactly. Interesting. Okay. And then how equipped is your team in converting calls into actual Eric: patients? I feel like we're pretty good with it. I've made sure to train my team to always answer the phone.And one thing that we've actually done, which is a I forgot where I had learned it, but it was a good little nugget of information that on our phone system, right? When someone calls in, they, you know, it says, Hey, welcome to our office. If you're a new patient, press one. If you're an existing patient, press two, right?Mm-hmm. So if they press one and they're a new patient, the phone will ring longer. It'll go through, I don't know, four or five rings, right? Whereas if it's an existing patient, but it'll go for a shorter period of time. That way, my whole team knows if the calls ring longer, like it's gone through its third ring or its fourth ring, hey that is 100% someone who's calling to be a new patient.You gotta drop what you're doing. You gotta answer that phone. We cannot let that go to voicemail. Right. We need to answer that. Yeah. So we implemented that system in place and so my whole team knows that. Hey, even if I'm doing something else, if I hear the phone ringing and it's still been ringing for longer than normal, I gotta pick that up cause that's probably a new patient.Right? Cuz like all of us know those new patients cost money, right? We gotta put marketing efforts in to get that. So, my team knows to do that and that's a little trick we did to get them on board to answer that and then, We have a, just a very simple paper intake form that just has some basic questions on it that kind of directs our team on what to ask for whether, just a.New patient appointment for a checkup and cleaning, or if it's a limited exam, right, they need to come in for an emergency. If it's a new patient exam, we make sure we build our schedule out that we can get them in within the week, right? Because you don't want a patient calling and saying, oh, well we can't get you, you know?And we say, Hey, we can't get you in for three weeks. They're gonna find somewhere else. Or they'll make the appointment and then not show up. Right? So we make sure we have capacity in our schedule to be able to see them, within a decent timeframe. And then if it's an emergency, one thing I have told all my team is we gotta get them in same day.You know, we don't need to promise that we're gonna start treatment on 'em, right? But we can at least get 'em in to address their concerns and figure out what's going on. Patients really appreciate that, and that has created a lot of goodwill within our community that patients know they can come in and see us.We've had a couple patients who call in for emergencies because the dentist down the street or wherever they normally go, can't see 'em for three days. We get 'em in the same day and then we convert them over to our practice. So it's been a great way to, gain more patience by doing that. Michael: Gotcha.Okay man. So then they basically fill out that new patient form real quick and then bring them in. Eric: Right. Yeah. We have 'em fill in. So everything else is pretty much digital in the office, right? Mm-hmm. So when they fill out that intake form, then it's my scheduler's job or whoever has, whoever's taking the call to find time within our schedule to get them in.We'll try to get, you know, basic insurance information, all that kind of stuff so we can make the appointment go a little more smoothly when they come in, right from that perspective. and then, yeah, they pretty much just, they, we'd get 'em in. Michael: Gotcha. Awesome, man. And then could you elaborate on any unique.Ground marketing or outta the box strategies that have been successful for your practice. Eric: So when we did, because our practices were startups, right? So I feel like in the beginning we had to try to get creative, cuz you come in with no pa, no new patients, right? So, and you don't have, your website isn't built up, you don't have a ton of good reviews, all that kind of stuff.So a lot of the things I'm doing now is a byproduct of. Time, and being able to build all that. But in the beginning, yeah, some of the ground marketing I did and was, we went to all the apartment complexes that were nearby, you know, gave gift, either gift baskets to the people working there or asked to drop certain, flyers and different things in there new mover baskets that they'll give, right?Mm-hmm. To new tenants coming in. And saw some decent results with that in the beginning. I don't do that anymore because it's not, it's not really needed because we. Built up the new patient flow to where it needs to be. But in the beginning, man, you gotta kind of just grind, right? So, I mean, we did that, you know, I went to the towns we're in, they have like festivals, every summer.And so we took a booth out, wore our swag that we had and just, had 'em. Play like a game to win a prize. Then we try to get their information in, you know, as long as they put in their information, then we try to reach out to them later to try to get them to schedule. One issue we did see with that, and it's probably just dependent on the market you're in and where it is is my office is, don't take Medicaid insurance, but one of the festivals we were at, it was a heavy A lot of people who were there, used Medicaid for their dental benefits.And so that didn't work that well for us because, I mean, we didn't really know what the demographic was gonna be, who was gonna be at that, right? Like, there's no way to know that. But that was one good learning lesson is, the, the audience we were targeting wasn't the audience that was at that, mm-hmm.Ground marketing kind of event. Right? Yeah. But you know, I've thrown around tons of other like, kind of ideas, but it kind of goes back to that first point that I had was. initially I think you gotta do some of that ground marketing, but one I think you really hone in and focus in on, you get good reviews, right?As fast as you can. you get really good marketing company that can just build your rankings and build a really good modern website. That's good, that's easy for patients to use. we use a software that has kind of like a local med right, where the patients can schedule online to make it convenient for them.And we just really focusing on building those few things really well. And it's allowed us to kind of step away from having to do all this ground marketing that we, you know, in my head I'm like, oh, this is gonna be huge. Right. Because a, that takes a lot of time too. Mm-hmm. You know, my time, team members time, right.I gotta pay team members to be there, whereas, I have to pay for the Google ad, but don't have to pay for a team member to be there. So, we've definitely pivoted more to just, like I said, focusing in on those few main things and it's, it's been good. Michael: Yeah. The Pareto principle, right?Like you're focusing in on the this pretty good, pretty good. Exactly. Exactly. Have you ever faced a situation where the promised results were not achieved within the expected Eric: timeframe? Yeah, I mean, yeah, kind of like I alluded to earlier, you know, the one good thing about the marketer that I use now is it's pretty straightforward. Easy to get in touch with. I kind of know I, expectations are good, but yeah, in the past, so like, for example, the previous marketer I used. Before this one was a local marketer in Colorado. He was a de dental specific still, right? Like I still reco, you know, I'd still recommend you pick a dental specific marketer, right?Mm-hmm. he had all these huge ideas on what he was gonna do every week. It was, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this, and then nothing would ever come to fruition. So that was kind of frustrating. I also found out, cause I had some friends that were clients of his as well.And they, you know, we'd talk and they'd say, Hey, I'm doing really well with him and, we're doing x, y, and z marketing things. And I was like, well, those never, how come those never got mentioned to me? I'm only 15 miles away from this other office. Why? Why is he telling them and not telling me?So I'd have to go back and say, I just talked to my friend, they said they're doing this and this with you. Just how come we're not having consistency here? Like everything's kind of all over the map and not organized. So, that was kind of frustrating as well, where I felt like I wasn't getting at least the options to know everything.Right. so then direct mailers too, like we used those in the beginning. And those, those did work for a bit, but then kind of tailed off and didn't really give us much of an ROI after that. But those were, those cost a lot of money and, sometimes marketers I think would promise, a certain result from those.And then when we would track it, we're like, well, we got like a third of that. Right? Like, Hey, you're gonna get. I'm just throwing random numbers, like you're gonna get 20 calls on this and we'd see like six. Right. And it would be consistent. So I think a lot of times, A lot of times I think it was just over-promising and underdelivering.Mm-hmm. Right. Or with rankings, previous marketer, I used two before this one. That's helped me boost my rankings, All right. How come rankings aren't where they're at? How come I'm still ranked like 20th and there's 20 dentists in the area, right? Why am I at the bottom? feel like we've got good reviews, we've got a good website, all this stuff.Oh, no, no, we're working on it. It takes time. It takes time. three months later, Hey, I'm still 20th, man, you know? Are we working on, oh, yeah, no, no, we're working. We're good. Next month. I'm at 19, right? See, see, we made some progress. Now we're at 19 and it's like, All right. Well, I mean, I'm paying you every month.Like I'd like to see some, possible, some quicker results. What do we need to do that? I'll do what you deem me to do. Just tell me. And so I think we were running into issues where it was just a lot of that Right. Just, you know, mm. Not being able to deliver. Yeah. Yeah. Michael: That's true. I feel like especially the SEO game, It's like that, where they're like, oh, you gotta optimize your website. You gotta piss optimize. You're like, well, whatcha you doing every month to really optimize this thing? Yeah. Paying a fee all the time, you Eric: know? Yeah. And it's not meant to try to be negative on it. I get, it's a really soft science, and I'm not a marketer, so I don't understand all the workings of it, but I think the issue is, is when.The promise or the expected delivery is we're gonna get you on the first page within X timeframe. What would happen is that timeframe would happen and it wouldn't happen. And so then I think as like Dennis, like us, we say, okay, well I just paid you X amount of money with the goal that we would get here.We're not here. And then it was always like a new excuse of why it didn't happen. So, I'm happy with, who I've got now. We've been able to deliver on the results and it's been good. Michael: Awesome man. So who you got now? The marketing company or the guy who's doing your, your marketing right now.What specific actions have they undertaken for you? Like, I know you said they're doing your digital or Google ads, and then at the same time seo, but specifically like what do they recommend from you? Or what they, would they ask for you? Eric: Yeah. Yeah. So for me, I'll use Slack, like, I don't know if you've ever used that app.Right. Just to communicate. And so we'll communicate on there. in the beginning he came through and he's like, Hey, I need to, like every marketer, I need to reoptimize your website. Right? So, you know, he went through and he told me, Hey get me a video here. This'll help if we put this here, I wanna put a call to action here.Here's the reason why I need some photos of this, this, and this. And so he would just gimme tasks of what I needed. I would send it to him, and then he would do it. Right. And that's, and we communicate mostly through like Slack, which is kind of nice. And then in terms of ads, a lot of it is, when I do meetings with him, it's, Hey, what do you, at your practice, what are you looking for right now?Right. Do you wanna see more emergencies? Okay, let's push Google Ads. Here's some of the recommendations that I have for ads that we do. Look over it. Tell me if you're okay as well with how it's worded, right? Because we wanna make sure things are worded how we want, right? Because to make sure there's not any, like either errors or we're saying something that we can't promise on, right?So I, I like to just do a quick double check just to make sure, or hey, My associate wants to get more into uh, clear aligners, right. You know, like Invisalign kind of stuff. Mm-hmm. And he'd say, okay, let's make a, let's make a landing page and try to put an offer on there.This is what I'm recommending what do you think? And I look my stuff and say, yeah, we're good. So he is like, all right, we're gonna drive traffic to here, and then it's gonna push them through to your site and then they can schedule. Right. So we kind of just are a little more collaborative and we kind of talk about that stuff and then, it's pretty basic.He just tells me what he needs and then he does it right. Which, sometimes, I think we think things have to be complicated for them to actually feel like they're good. And sometimes I think there's a lot of genius in people that can take things that. Are complicated, make 'em very simple and then just make 'em work, right?Yeah. And that's kind of what I've been finding with this marketer. So it's been good. Nice man. Michael: Awesome. Awesome. And then can you share any other strategic changes apart from marketing that you implemented and found to contribute Eric: to your success? So apart from marketing, For us, I think what's helped attribute our to our success in general and being able to grow both the, startup practices I feel like pretty strongly in a, in a relatively short amount of time.It's just having systems and processes in place, right. I kind of had to learn that the hard way. between the two of us, my wife is way more of the systems person, way more of the organized person. Mm-hmm. Hold people accountable. And I tend to just be like the fun one who just comes to hang out.Right. And so there's a lot of cons to being that type of person. Right. Especially when we had our first child a few years ago and she had to step away from the businesses and, then it was all on me to kind of. Take over it. And you know, I knew all the systems, but you know, I wasn't following 'em as much and I didn't track to make sure they were being done.The team kind of noticed I was, not doing my checklist of stuff I had to do in a, and then they stopped. Right? And so it caused the practices to kind of, dip a little bit. And so I kind of had to, Think about all that and kind of have a little heart, heart to it myself and say, Hey man, you got two options.Like we know these systems work. Either need to do it and be the leader of it or don't, and then they'll continue to dip. So once I started following more of our, you know, our systems for how we order our systems for, how we track lab or all that kind of stuff, right? That comes into a practice.Once I started actually. Holding myself and other people accountable to that, then the practices starts to, to get going better again. Right. And doing well again. So I would think the one thing that really contributed and contributes continuously to our success is just having systems in place and making sure that we're following those systems.Michael: Okay, so having systems right now, if you can think about it, what are like one or two systems where you're like, man, we created it. It's a unique system in our practice. We love it Eric: and it's amazing. Yeah, so that's great. I mean, probably for me it's probably all ordering stuff. Right? And then I'll, this kind of goes into, how I ended up creating a software company too that's based on.Like an ordering system. Right. So, little bit of a backstory. So when Covid hit right, it hit all of us as dental offices, right? We were all shut down. It was mandated, you know, some longer, some shorter, but in Colorado we were shut down for six weeks unless it was like a, just a straight up emergency, right?So, say mid-March to beginning of May my wife and I were just home, right? And we brought the office phone back to our office at our house. And we were just answering calls and we kind of said, all right, well, you know, since we kind of have to bootstrap this, the entire staff was furloughed, right?we'll take calls when we're not doing that, what are we gonna do with our time? Like, we had a little kid at home, but like when they're sleeping and stuff, it's like, we're not just gonna sit around and watch tv, right? Like, how can we, how can we actually like take this negative experience and make it positive?So we said, all right, let's look at all of our different processes, What are we doing? Let's look at our systems, let's review everything. So we started to go through all of our different systems and. We had gotten onto ordering and you know, we had a spreadsheet and everything and it was good. It was organized.And at that same time though, I realized that I had to order, right. Usually my assistant ordered, but my order, my assistant's not working for me. So, we were looking and we were trying to find the things that everyone was trying to find. Right. All the PPE you're trying to find. Yeah.Gloves, masks. You know, you've got, I had my Henry Shine tab up and I had my Darby tab up and my net 32, and then some random supplier in like China or something, right? Mm-hmm. And you got all of them up and you're trying to figure out, I need to get this kn N 95 max. No, no, no. It needs to be a level three.No, it needs to at least be this. Right. And then with gloves, but we need, you know, I wear larges. Oh, they only have extra smalls, right? And they're like, crap, okay, what does Darby have? What do they have? And one second, it's in stock. Then you press add to cart and it's now it's unavailable, right?And the prices are skyrocketing and there's all these issues with this. And so we're like, man, this is kind of tough. We're like, I wonder if there's like a better way to, outside of all this covid stuff, just to kind of order in general, right? Mm-hmm. Cause we were seeing all those challenges.So the idea for the software company we created Ordo like O R D O was born and so, They kind of first just started out as an idea to just take all of those vendors that we all use and just have 'em on one platform because, it's so annoying to have to click between 10 different tabs and, compare prices and do all that.So at first, the tool was just built out as a way to link all of the vendors that you have, put 'em on one platform. You search for an item, like if I was searching for Septocaine, right? I press search and then I can see. Septocaine, I can see all the vendors I've linked. I can price compare right then and there in real time.these are all made up numbers, but shine's numbers, it's, it's 45 bucks for Shine, it's, it's 50 bucks for Darby and it's 55 for net 32. Okay, well I'm gonna pick Henry Shine. It's in stock and it's there. So that's where that idea was born to just make it a lot easier for dental offices, assistant office managers, whoever who's ever ordering to be able to just.Place their orders and then it's grown, right? So we went from there and said, all right, well how else do you continue to build out an ordering system? Right? You gotta be able to track your inventory, track your budget, all that stuff too. So we've built out additional features where you know, you can track your budget.In real time so your team knows where they're at. You don't have to have a spreadsheet for that anymore. with inventory we can track all of your orders on one platform from all your different vendors. You can check to see, if it's shipped, you can click on the tracking link to know when it's expected.So pretty much from start to finish, you can order supplies and track all your inventory, which is great. We let users keep their current. Prices if they're part of a buying group, they get to keep the current prices they have with them. So, doesn't create an issue. And then we've even, sorry, I know I get excited about talking about this.No, it's good. It's good. Feel free to stop me if you need me to, but no. One other thing that we did cool that I feel like differentiates us from the other people in the space that are doing something similar is we've actually linked up directly with open dental. Right. You know how their softwares will do that as well.You know, there's a way where you can link your open dental account to Oro and we can first, we can pull all of your budgets automatically. So we'll just take your, you know, monthly report that shows your production or collections, and we can sync it straight into Oro and then it'll update, every month.So your team doesn't have to manually put in all that stuff again. And the other thing that we did that's really cool with Open Dental is we created a feature called FutureCast. And what that does is it allows us to scan your schedule on open dental, either a week out, two weeks out, just you know, certain timeframes into the future.We can compare how many of a certain procedure you have compared to what you normally do, like historically. So like for Example that actually happened. My associate had a ton of extractions scheduled in the following week. He had a full mouth case. He had a thirds case. He had a ton of just single teeth.He had like 30 more extractions than he normally does. That's what we figured out by running future cast. And so what it did is it allowed my assistant to be really proactive and she said, Hey, look, The doc here is doing 30 more extractions. Do I have enough bone graft? Do I have enough sutures?Do I have enough membrane? Do I have enough of the things I need, or my doc needs to be able to do these procedures so it's not Monday and we're scrambling to try to get stuff, you know, next day air sent over. So she was able to be proactive about her ordering. And it solved a huge issue. It was a super smooth week.We kept production. We didn't have to reschedule patients, you know, and everyone got, what they needed to get done and there was no stress then because she just was able to be proactive. But yeah. Cool. Yeah. So, yeah. That's nice man. Pretty Michael: excited about it. Yeah. And this is going live when?Eric: So right now we are just, we just got out of beta. We're doing kind of a soft launch with a few other offices just to kind of work out some final kinks on it. But, our goal is, June 1st, we're gonna start kind of doing a little bit heavier of uh, bringing on some more offices.And then July 1st is when we'd like to be full steam ahead, anyone can join on. And yeah, just go from there. So yeah, we're real, we're really, really excited. A lot of work development takes a long time, but it's definitely been worth it. It's been great. Michael: No man, it's gonna be exciting stuff.Awesome. So we'll talk about that a little bit and especially the exclusive offer you have for our listeners in a bit. But one of the last questions I wanted to ask you is, as a practice owner, what advice would you give to our listeners regarding effective marketing and ROI Eric Applesies DRAFT-cm: tracking? Eric: Yeah, that's a really, really good question.I was kind of contemplating and thinking about that a little bit it kind of goes back to what I've kind of been talking about throughout the podcast, I feel like is. Eventually just once you've got your practice established and you're good, just going back to the basics a little bit on what you're doing with marketing, right?And this is just from like the last year of when we've just kind of gone back to keeping it simple. And I think I tell a new practice owner, Hey, in the beginning you gotta go hard. You gotta ground market, you gotta do whatever you can. You gotta hustle, right? To get those new patients in.Cause you're, you know, if you're a startup, you're starting with nothing. And if you're a transition, I mean maybe not as much cause you maybe already have new patient flow. But I would say it's really just go back to the basics. focus first and on. If you're doing an acquisition, check to see what your reviews are like.If they're not where they need to be, get 'em up. Right? Use a company that does review management, right? There's a ton of 'em out there that'll help make it easy for you, right? Mm-hmm. Build up your reviews. 90 plus percent of your patients it happens every time I tell 'em, or I ask 'em, how'd you hear about us?It's always, you guys had amazing reviews. Right? And they're not just, you know, at our office, we just don't have a five star review with no. Like comment underneath it that the user left, it'll be a five star review and it'll say, I had a great experience. You know, Dr. So-and-so was great. The assistance were great.It's a long response. And potential customers or patients love to see those. So I would say build reviews, build them as fast as you can, and make sure they're quality reviews right. Focus in on that. Focused in on getting a marketing company that, doesn't try to over promise. If they're trying to over promise on stuff and like, Hey, we're gonna make you first in the rankings and all that, it's probably a red flag cuz I don't think they're doing something that's special that another marketing company can't.I have not been convinced yet that there's some special sauce that some market one marketing company has that other ones don't. Right. So, I don't see a lot of difference between them in terms of that. I would say, Get a really good website, make sure it's modern. Something that people wanna see, right?That users don't feel like. Cause if a, if a website feels old or it's not working, then they probably attribute that to your office, right? If it's modern, it looks new, it's clean, it's easy to use, you can schedule online, then you've created a smooth process for them before they've even seen you. So they have the expectations subconsciously in their head that my appointment is gonna be smooth too, right?So make it easy for 'em. And Yeah, and I, I'd say yeah, focusing on, focusing on those Google ads have worked really well for us. They're very hands-off. Once you have 'em running, you don't have to think about 'em. I found more of the marketing that I don't have to think about and just gets done and it gets done effectively.Frees up more time for me and it's less things I have to think about. So that's why I like those as well. But yeah, I would, I would say focusing on those things. Michael: Awesome, man. I appreciate your time. And real quick, where can people find out more about Ordo at the same time? The exclusive deal. All that stuff.Eric: Yeah. Yeah. So our website, it's join ordo.com. Very easy process. Once you go in you can check out the website, kind of see our vendors we have on there kind of see all the features that we have. You can onboard straight from the website, which is great. Onboarding takes safe five to 10 minutes, and then you're good to go.So, very easy as well. And yeah, so the offer that I wanted to, you know, give all the listeners here is just the first month free, That way it gives everyone a chance to use the platform, love it as much as we do. Make sure it's a good fit and everything. And if you just use promo code T D M and you put it in to the end of onboarding, there'll be a spot.Then it'll apply and you'll be good. Michael: Nice guys. So you're gonna get a month for free. Check it out. Taste it, right. Feel it. It's interesting. But future cast is really, really interesting. You know what I mean? Like everything's really great. But that to me, I was like, oh, snap. Eric: Yeah, we're really, and honestly it was through a friend who was like, you know, I was giving, I was just asking some friends about it, and he was like, wouldn't it be cool if we could do this?And I was like, yes, that would be amazing. We should do that. And so, yeah, we built it out. I, I really, I'm really, really excited about that feature. I feel like it's something that hasn't been seen before and it's gonna provide a lot of value to practices, so, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, Michael: definitely. Awesome. Eric, thank you so much for your time.If wanted, if anyone wanted to reach out to you, where can they find you? Eric: Yeah my email is Eric e r i c, join ordo.com. So feel free there. And yeah, I'll I'm happy to answer any questions for you. Michael: Awesome. So guys, that's gonna be in the show notes below, along with the exclusive deal and the Ordo website if you guys want to go check it out.And Eric, thank you for being with us. It's been a pleasure and we'll hear Eric: from you soon. Sounds great. Thanks for having me.‍‍

We continue on our journey through early stage breast cancer, this time turning our attention to HER2+ disease. There is a lot of data in this episode, as you will both hear and see. To make this easier, we highlight key takeaways to make understanding this even easier. Content: - What is HER2? - Discovery of trastuzumab- Data for use of trastuzumab in adjuvant and neoadjuvant setting- Data for use of pertuzumab in adjuvant and neoadjuvant setting - Data and use of trastuzumab emtansine (TDM-1) in the adjuvant setting- Management of HER2+ stage I breast cancer- Highlights of key trials that shape the paradigm of management- Our approach to management ** Want to review the show notes for this episode and others? Check out our website: https://www.thefellowoncall.com/our-episodesLove what you hear? Tell a friend and leave a review on our podcast streaming platforms!Twitter: @TheFellowOnCallInstagram: @TheFellowOnCallListen in on: Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast

David Diaz from "Them Damn Mexicans" Joins us and we chop it up. We talk business and Culture. We get to know what TDM brand is out here doing and building . Listen and go follow the Homie on his IG, @Themdamnmexicans . Good vibes , Listen and Share. Pura Cultura , Sin Censura 

How do you learn from the experience of putting out an offer that doesn't quite get the sales conversions you were after? You can start by collecting the data, analyzing it, and then aligning it with your audience to increase your offer conversion.Mickey Anderson is The Marketing Closer and she's articulating the merits of creating personal connections and getting your clients "into the offer" so that you are constantly tweaking to see what works and what doesn't.This can be a simple use of the word "because" in a survey, where you give your audience a reason to participate. Shorter, more frequent surveys are preferable too, and quiz funnels are an improving mechanism for generating leads and sales that Mickey is also seeing work well. It's the sage advice of making more meaningful touchpoints to make your emails stand out (perhaps a video) and knowing that if a conversion process is simple, it becomes actionable. Mickey also shares on how to manage client relations with a good old 'compliment sandwich' that acknowledges the hard work put in thus far, rather than saying "This thing sucks, let's change it". Learn how to test ideas like incentivization and getting the cadence of your list communication and offer optimization experimentation just right from Mickey, The Marketing Closer, who is graciously sharing her industry secrets with TDM's Mark de Grasse. Mickey Anderson is a campaign strategist, conversion optimization specialist, and conversion copywriter, creating content strategies and campaigns that earn multiple 6 and 7 figures in profits. Connect the dots between your content and sales by visiting heymickeyanderson.com and see how you can optimize conversion, maximize retention, and increase referrals for your business. Key Takeaways:01:25 What is offer optimization?02:10 How does offer optimization work?03:35 What key metrics should people pay attention to? 05:40 What do you want out of a survey?07:05 What is the statistical input you need to make your collected data worthwhile? 08:26 How do you improve your offer based on the data? 10:25 What is enough time before you modify an existing offer? 12:26 What are the red flags for a really bad offer?13:50 How do you approach what's not working with a client?16:18 The improving value of quiz funnels 18:20 Are email conversion rates still high? 19:06 How regularly should you be emailing your list?22:50 Mickey's client manager advice (putting it in "test mode")25:38 If it's simple, it's actionableConnect with Mickey Anderson:Website - Hey Mickey Anderson - https://www.heymickeyanderson.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heymickeyanderson/Be sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization Agency

Is there a simple, proven approach to copywriting that can be integrated successfully into marketing campaigns and then automated ad infinitum? Jon Reyes believes there is. Jon is the owner of Copy Blueprints.com and he has built a tried and tested system around copywriting that is cohesive with your marketing plans. It comes down to three simple strategies: marketing and writing for conversions, marketing and writing for your brand voice, and marketing and writing to give insanely good value to your audience. Sure, this does differ, as health and wellness strategies will differ from entrepreneurial and personal growth advice, but ultimately it boils down to these three approaches that, once grasped, can be automated (forever!)So, if your influencer is big on brand voice, you focus on that. If your product is strong, you focus on conversions. But what happens when an influencer plateaus? Do they reveal personal details about their lives and show their imperfections to grow their audience? What about products like Apple that attract and repel? Is direct marketing effective and how does Jon evaluate a company's efforts through his systematic approach?Today's TDM is a lesson in brand voice (how you want to be portrayed versus what your audience reacts to) and provides answers to the questions above. It is a timely reminder of the importance of consistent messaging in your copy-driven marketing. From working with marketing masterminds to 'up and coming gurus', Jon has seen it all and stands by his experience. Making money and satisfying your clientele is an easier juggling act with Jon's copywriting blueprint for success.Jon Reyes is a freelance copywriter, CRO specialist, and the owner of Copy Blueprints.comJon is responsible for multiple 8-figures in sales for health and wellness experts, influencers, and info-marketers. He has built an entire system around copywriting that is cohesive with your marketing plans. Get the tried-and-tested "Shortcut" to a 6-Figure Income as a part-time copywriter by visiting www.copyblueprints.com and see how transforming "The Written Word" into measurable, explosive profits can rock your world.Key Takeaways:01:10 What does a cohesive approach to copywriting look like?03:10 What are some examples of how Jon's approach has worked?05:10 What happens when an influencer plateaus?06:50 How does Jon measure direct response marketing campaigns?08:40 The value of marketing consistency09:35 How do you describe a brand voice?12:35 Is your brand 'pretending'? Be genuine!13:55 How do you translate an authentic voice into conversions? 15:35 Why influencing can become a lazy popularity contest18:10 What happens when you go for conversions too aggressively?19:35 How to create a value message that keeps your customers for a long time?24:20 How to pinpoint your values – and then scale quicklyConnect with Jon Reyes:Website - Copywriters' Masterclass | Rockstar Conversions - https://www.jonreyes.net/6-figuresBe sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram:...

Episode Notes Drs. Kate Kyler (@kedkyler) and Amit Pai (@DosingMatters) join Dr. Jeannette Bouchard (@jlbouchard001) for a discussion on dosing antibiotics in children and adults affected by obesity! Learn when practitioners should be concerned about drug dosing, what disease states and populations matter most, when we should explore TDM, and more! Learn more about the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists: https://sidp.org/About Twitter: @SIDPharm (https://twitter.com/SIDPharm) Instagram: @SIDPharm (https://www.instagram.com/sidpharm/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sidprx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidp/ Listen to Breakpoints on iTunes, Overcast, Spotify, Listen Notes, Player FM, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, Blubrry, RadioPublic, or by using our RSS feed: https://sidp.pinecast.co/ Check out our podcast host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free with no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-7e7a98 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Breakpoints.

In the tsunami of open-source AI that has engulfed us all, who's riding the wave's crest with the right prompts to generate in-context learning from models like ChatGPT4 that creates effective copy? Arguably, it's Jon Benson, inventor of the VSL (Video Sales Letter) and founder of CopyPro, an AI-driven app that is so intuitive it promises that it will soon be promptless.Jon has been pioneering the art of copywriting in video content for the better part of his career and learning AI for the past six years. In today's episode of TDM with host Mark de Grasse, Jon is trumpeting the importance of copywriting and riffing on its evolution since Mad Men and its halcyon heydays. There is a vanguard he describes where brilliant, human copywriting meets eager-to-learn AI. Here, at this cutting edge, sits a quiet appreciation for the art and science of persuasion. A skill AI has yet to master. This is good news for copywriters that are out there, learning AI in the dark, figuring out how AI thinks through the structure of language, and so becoming ever practical and valuable for everyday folk like us digital marketers.Jon promises that the launch of his application is indeed going to be better than working in the mines of ChapGPT and other open-source AI apps that are just warp-speed predictive text engines, still lacking the finesse of people-powered persuasion. All of this makes for compelling TDM content and frankly, it's hard not to be persuaded by his passion, his perspective, and his prompt(less) arrival in AI copywriting country. This one's for all you diehard copywriters out there! Disclaimer: This copy was written by a human.Jon Benson is The Billion Dollar Copy Coach, the CEO of CopyPro.ai, and ChatVSL which promises to write persuasive, direct-marketing Video Sales Letters in under an hour. To find out more about what Jon does, visit copypro.ai and jonbenson.com. You'll be sure to find great sales pitches, a love of words, personal music videos, VSL testimonials, and more. Key Takeaways:01:18 How did Jon and Copy Pro get started with dissecting copy for AI?03:30 How ChatGPT4 has flipped the switch on writing accurate copy04:36 The advent of direct response copywriting06:20 Appreciating the art and science of copywriting07:44 Why (human) persuasion still matters08:30 Why AI has a problem 'opening a loop' 10:06 Mad Men and direct response marketing14:25 Why it's so important to be able to distill your copy16:54 Why copy needs to be simple and persuasive with attention spans waning19:15 Promptless AI and what BNSN will be able to do21:40 How BNSN is starting with emails and then VSL 22:20 What is prompt creation going to look like for average folk?28:00 Introducing Chat VSL Connect with Jon Benson:Website - https://go.copypro.ai/Chat VSL - https://jonbenson.com/LinkedIn - Jon Benson - Creator of CopyPro.ai - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbensonBe sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram:...

What is Google's new generative AI going to mean for you and your business? There are big happenings in the world of AI, none more so than Google's recent I/O keynote, where they unveiled a whole new search model (pretty much). And so if you want to eat, you're going to need to learn to EEAT. Extra emphasis on the first E. The E-E-A-T Google acronym stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google will no longer be prioritizing Authoritative articles on skydiving. Rather, if you want the high ranking, you'll need to prove that you jumped out of the plane!With 80% of the world's internet traffic and $162 billion in revenue in 2022 from search alone, Google knows that it needs to drive traffic back to its publishers. And so, they're rewarding content creators who combine their Expertise with actual Experience. This is good news for marketers and great news for content creators worrying about the AI wolf at the door. Julia McCoy is reminding the TDM audience that having a presence, choosing a niche, and sharing lots of content within that niche matters more than ever. Host Mark de Grasse is throwing in some measured skepticism about whether or not Google will be swiping our content anyway and what will happen if their plan doesn't work. All of this makes for engaging content on how we can be an E (expert) rather than a C (chatbot) in this AI-crazy world. Julia McCoy is the President of Content at Scale and is a bonafide AI Expert with added Experience. Content at Scale is the world's fastest-growing AI writing platform for SEO marketers. A go-to resource for marketers, agencies, publishers, and content freelancers looking to step into the new world of AI with knowledge and integrity, Content at Scale helps marketers, agencies, publishers, and content freelancers adapt to AI content without losing the human touch. *Check out Episode 322 of The DigitalMarketer, which featured an interview with Content at Scale's Founder, Justin McGill.Key Takeaways:01:20 What is Google generative AI all about? 08:58 What examples were highlighted at Google's IO keynote?10:20 Can we trust Google? 11:55 How hard will it be to be featured as an expert contributor? 18:30 Will Google's new approach work for the average person?19:30 Will Google care how we create our content (using AI)? 22:00 Google's struggles as an 'old' company23:15 Understanding what Google means by 'Experience'26:20 How will Google's tracking work? 29:00 How to tie your advertisers into your content 31:00 How is Google AI going to appease its publishers? 31:50 How do I publish content to get ahead of Google generative AI?34:10 Why content creators will still be valuable36:00 The value of identifying your unique content style39:50 Does domain authority still matter?41:00 The advent of VR and a future marketer's paradiseConnect with Julia McCoy:Website - Content at Scale - https://contentatscale.ai/LinkedIn - Julia McCoy - President - Content at Scale | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliaemccoyBe sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook:...

Are you a business professional or business owner who's weighed up the idea of writing your own book? You've been raised in a world where you've been psychologically conditioned to trust a book, but now everything is digital, and to add to the confusion, there's AI!Paul McManus is the co-founder of More Clients, More Fun and the author of 'The Short Book Formula'. He's in conversation with TDM's Mark de Grasse, and together they're exploring the reasons why you should publish your own book. This starts with seeing your book as a marketing tool and an authority builder. They promise that what you should do with that book to generate sales will be discussed in a 'part two' episode soon. For now, the emphasis is on the hard copy book as part of the marketing, lead generation, and sales process. A book can create a brand, facilitate trust, and it elevates your status. If you feel that actual writing is too much of a barrier to entry to your masterpiece or that you're just too embarrassed to convey your story, then Paul's publishing process involves system creation, ideation, and reforming concepts into something that's deliverable and scalable, will be right up your alley.Paul McManus is the co-founder of More Clients, More Fun and the author of 'The Short Book Formula', the ideal solution for financial professionals who want to write and publish their books quickly and efficiently. Their unique approach allows you to get your message out to the world in record time (six short weeks) without sacrificing quality. Their approach will also help you make sure that your book is compelling and engaging so that your readers will become clients and champions of your business.Key Takeaways:00:59 Why should anybody (professionals or a business) have a book?08:00 How is AI (ChatGPT4) changing the publishing landscape for Paul?14:44 Print versus digital: do you have to actually print?19:10 Using AI to write your book: what are the challenges? 23:50 Becoming a published author in only six weeks25:10 Appreciating Paul's process of working with his clients28:20 Why it's worth working with a publishing professional Connect with Paul G. McManus:Website - The Short Book Formula - https://www.theshortbookformula.com/Link Tree - @paulgmcmanus | Linktree - https://linktr.ee/paulgmcmanusBe sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization AgencyGet 50% Off Monthly Blog Writing Service - BKA Content More Resources from Scalable[Free Guide & Assessment] 7 Levels of Scale

In an ocean of AI-driven content, how do you find your unique voice and identifiable personality that ensures your message doesn't get lost at sea?Molly Mahoney is The Prepared Performer and she's sharing the wisdom of articulating your own unique character attributes (at least 20!) before you start feeding your AI chatbot prompts and coming up with new content. There's a wonderful method to Molly's madness that involves the Quesadilla of Awesome and an intentionally misspelled acronym that will force you to check in with what you stand for as a brand so that when your content is reflected back to you, you'll know right away whether it is on point or not. TDM host Mark De Grasse and Molly also share on how to prevent Chatbot hallucinations, embrace AI's personality quirks, and the frameworks you need to be a better content writer. From awesome quesadillas to banana phones, there are ways to create content and community in quirky ways that set us humans apart from our artificially intelligent digital doppelgängers. Creating magic starts here. Molly Mahoney is the founder and CEO of The Prepared Performer. She teaches people how to turn their message into a profitable movement by having more fun (and ultimately making more money) without guru marketing or high-pressure sales tactics. Learning how to perform better in business begins with performing better in front of others. Elevate your Awesome Podcast with Molly Mahoney and The Prepared Performer team. Key Takeaways:02:35 How does Molly make her AI content more human?03:15 What is the Quesadilla of Awesome?07:40 Making a list of 20 things that make you a uniquely awesome human being08:45 How to appreciate yourself with the SAAVE acronym12:00 Creative AI prompts once you've articulated your uniqueness15:30 Creating a character before you create your AI content17:30 Making an emotional connection with your AI content19:50 How to prevent Chatbot hallucinations20:55 Being patient with your AI prompts26:10 Creating random content with AI28:00 Banana phones! 31:50 The low risk associated with trying out ideas using AI chatbotsConnect with Molly Mahoney:Website - the Prepared Performer - https://www.thepreparedperformer.com/YouTube - The Prepared Performer - https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePreparedPerformerBe sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization AgencyGet 50% Off Monthly Blog Writing Service - BKA Content More Resources from Scalable[Free Guide & Assessment] 7 Levels of Scale

How can you create meaningful, long-form content, using AI, in a way that ticks all the boxes and doesn't leave you scrambling to plug the holes left by unverified sources and hallucinatory AI 'facts'?Justin McGill, founder of Content at Scale, might have the answer you're looking for. His long-form SEO content software has just undergone an important upgrade, Content Scale 2.0, and his company has been in the AI writing game for a good few years now and is getting awesome results. It's as simple as putting in a keyword that you want to rank for, and the AI writing platform will provide you with a published-ready article out of the box. It also uses natural language processing to develop relevant keywords, and its AI detector tool is also an internet-renowned thing of beauty. AI is moving super fast, with thousands of products launching each week. TDM's host Mark De Grasse's conversation with Justin is able to separate the AI wheat from the digital chaff, empowering potentially bewildered or overwhelmed digital marketers out there with the know-how to ask the right AI prompts before getting lost in a sea of SEO content. Justin McGill is the founder of Content Scale. Launched in September of 2022, Content at Scale is the world's fastest-growing AI writing platform for SEO marketers. They help marketers, agencies, publishers, and content freelancers adapt to AI content without losing the human touch. Content at Scale is a go-to resource for marketers, agencies, publishers, and content freelancers looking to step into the new world of AI with knowledge and integrity.Key Takeaways:01:10 What is Content Scale 2.0? 03:53 How to take your ChatGPT content writing up a notch05:03 What was Justin's development cycle for Content Scale 2.0?08:00 Going back to the drawing board with an AI SASS product11:05 Is it a good idea to keep a beta label?15:00 Better ways to spend time than creating content: promoting it instead19:32 Understanding the AI detector functionality21:55 What's Google likely to do in terms of generative content? 25:37 Which industries are content creators going to become valuable in?26:36 How Bing is bringing AI to the search game to up their game32:15 What's next for Content at Scale? Connect with Justin McGill:Website - https://contentatscale.ai/Be sure to subscribe to the podcast at: https://www.digitalmarketer.com/podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digitalmarketerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmarketer/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-marketer/This Month's Sponsors:Conversion Fanatics - Conversion Rate Optimization AgencyGet 50% Off Monthly Blog Writing Service - BKA Content More Resources from Scalable[Free Guide & Assessment] 7 Levels of ScaleFREE EPIC Challenge More Shows You'll Love