Central Perk

joi, 13 noiembrie 2014

How to guarantee a 0% response rate from blogger outreach

How to guarantee a 0% response rate from blogger outreach

Posted: 12 Nov 2014 01:42 AM PST

Last week I had the chance to speak at the Content Marketing Show in Brighton (make sure you read Sam’s post about the key takeaways) – it was my first ever major public speaking opportunity and I’m now really pleased that I put my name forward a few months ago.

If you missed the conference, you can view my slides online; I’ve embedded my presentation in this post to make it really simple for you… My talk was called “How to guarantee a 0% response rate from blogger outreach” and highlighted ways to do it well, as well as very badly. I included a few ‘real life’ examples which you can see in the first few of my slides below:

More about blogger outreach

However I want to go further than this and answer a few of the questions that I was asked on the day.

Q&A

I mentioned the topic of guest posts, and how many bloggers find it irritating when they are sent content by companies who are only doing outreach from a link building perspective. This led to a couple of questions about how it’s possible to do guest posting better.

@HannahWarder OK – what is a successful strategy for getting guest blogs published?

— Emily Hill (@emilyhill1982) November 6, 2014

@HannahWarder thanks for the great pres! How many guest bloggers should a blog usually host? @izzy_jansen #contentmarketingshow — Jeremie Molho (@Jeremiemolho) November 5, 2014

There is of course no perfect solution that would work for every brand, and it is something that needs to be done on a case-by-case basis. It helps to understand how the search engines view the activity of guest blogging, so have a read of this quotation from Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s Webspam team:

“If you're using guest blogging as a way to gain links in 2014, you should probably stop. Why? Because over time it's become a more and more spammy practice, and if you're doing a lot of guest blogging then you're hanging out with really bad company.”

So if this is your end goal, you might want to rethink your strategy. Guest blogging has seen its peak, and is now in a decline. Bloggers have become wise to this tactic and many have policies on their websites that say they do not accept guest posts in any form. Yet if you are a company who is trying to connect with bloggers because you have something really great to share with them, you’re going to need to think about how you can differentiate your approach to your competitors. Here are my top tips:

Never mention linking back to a specific URL or the use of non-branded anchor text
Don’t suggest to bloggers that your content is “100% unique” as this is an indicator that you are outreaching to many bloggers
Have a clear reason to get in touch with a blogger, i.e. they have mentioned your brand previously or their interests are clearly aligned to you
Provide something of real value

Ultimately, if you’re struggling trying to place your content online, you should probably take it as a sign that it isn’t as spectacular as you think it might be. Put yourself in a blogger’s shoes to ask yourself “would I post this on my own blog?”.

If you have content that would work better as a press release, you can at least try and reformat your copy to use in a different form, somewhat easing the burden on your budget for the work that has already been carried out.

In terms of the number of guest bloggers that are suitable for a blog, this again will depend on the quality of what is written, how influential they are, and the reason for getting contributors. There are many industry websites such as State of Digital (http://www.stateofdigital.com) that do this well; you’ll see our very own Daniel Bianchini write on there from time to time, and he does this along with many other digital marketing influencers.

If the aim of getting guest bloggers is just to get fresh content, it’s probably not going to be worth it. However if you want excellent content, then seek the best bloggers possible to help you out. And make it really transparent who they are by including them on your editorial team page.

The next question came from Paige Hobart who wanted some more information on skim links…

@HannahWarder I’ve had a few cases of bloggers not being aware there are skim links on their site. Have you any experience with this? — Paige Hobart (@Paige_Mode) November 5, 2014

As Paige suggests, some bloggers aren’t too familiar with the affiliate links that are being driven through their content. There is actually an excellent blog post on this topic from Bryan Conte, which even goes into how these links can be removed when they are created automatically.

As a brand you may need to provide education to bloggers if you are looking to work with them, after all, you have the digital knowledge to help them – building this relationship may help you to get better results with them in the future too.

Finally, Tash Mills wanted to know how I use Google Analytics…

@HannahWarder great talk, thanks how do you use google analytics to measure blog success? — Natasha Mills (@Tash_Mills) November 5, 2014

Google Analytics is incredibly helpful when it comes to blogging, however there are some people who obsess a little bit too much about the data they see. I frequently see bloggers say “someone found my blog by searching for XXXXXX!” – but the one off visitor through this term isn’t exactly going to make much of a different to overall blog success, so I tend to discount any data that is attributed to less than 10 visitors (at least).

It can be useful for coming up with post topics, but I prefer to use it to see trend information about the number of visits, and what pages people have entered or exited my blog through. My main goal when it comes to blogging is to simply write what I love, so it’s always nice to see my audience growing in line with my own personal progression as a blogger.

If you have any further questions about what I covered at the Content Marketing Show, be sure to leave a comment below and I’ll get in touch.

The post How to guarantee a 0% response rate from blogger outreach appeared first on White.net.

Top takeaways from the Content Marketing Show November 2014

Posted: 11 Nov 2014 08:42 AM PST

This year Brighton saw its first content marketing show, after a change in venue from the usual London location. I've put together some of the top takeaways from the event, which includes the first eight talks.

Mark Johnstone – What content marketers can learn from advertising

Twitter: @epicgraphic
Checkout the slides here

Mark Johnstone from Distilled kicked off the conference with his talk about how to come up with content ideas.

What are the elements of a good idea? How do you connect them?

"An idea is a novel combination of previously unconnected elements that add value."

Mark's top tips included:

Understanding the three elements required for content creation:
Customer Insight – identifying the need (e.g. kids needing internet to access information and learn)
Product Truth – linking the product to the need (e.g. broadband gives to fast access to a wealth of info)
Competitor Insight – finding something that hasn't already been done, or looking for a different angle to make it unique (e.g. best price and best coverage for broadband service)
Map out your ideas and find the connections – use tree diagrams to build out your ideas and think outside of the box. Don't discount any ideas, as long as you can see the association
Mine the web for insight – Search Google and social media channels to find out what your target audience are interested in

5 steps for generating content:

Information gathering – expanding around finding all elements (consumer insights, competitor etc.)
Saturation – get all of your ideas down onto paper to free up your mind allowing you to focus on finding the connections. Put your ideas onto post-it notes and map them all out (you may hit the wall and feel you can't progress – keep going until you hit it again!)
Incubation – Once you reach saturation, step away and put your focus elsewhere, sleep on it. Actively disengage – remove yourself from the process
Illumination – write down what the question you're trying to solve – then brain dump around 20 answers
Verification – test it out. Go for a beer with a friend and drop your ideas in the conversation to gauge their reaction

Max Wilson – Why People Favourite Things – Tweet usefulness, style, and favouriting behaviour

Twitter: @gingdottwit
Checkout the slides here

Max, a lecturer in the School of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham, based his talk on a piece of research that he worked on, which looked at the reasoning behind why people engage with tweets.

Max’s top tips included:

People who gain followers more quickly are the informers
Tweets with exclamation marks at the end are less likely to be retweeted than those that use question marks
A tweet is less likely to be retweeted if it includes no real info – is too introspective e.g. the "tiles in this restaurant remind me of my grandma's house"
Tweets that are more likely to be favourited include useful info, personal experiences, recommendations, specific facts and things that people have figured out
Tweets that are less likely to be favourited don't include relevant info, e.g. use $ instead of £, and are too subjective

Why people favourite tweets

Tweeted by friends/family
Relates to their ego – they were mentioned in the tweet
Used as a form of bookmarking to keep a to-do list
Fishing for engagement from your audience can be risky
#McFail – McDonalds sent out a tweet asking people to speak about their experiences, which resulted in negative comments, including one customer who allegedly found a finger nail in a burger
#myNYPD – A social media campaign was launched by the NYPD to encourage twitter users to post pictures of themselves with local police officers, but this backfired when people started tweeting pictures of police officers being aggressive, appearing to use unnecessary force

Emma Dunn – How to ideate like a boss

Twitter: @snoopybing
Slides not available

Emma Dunn, a content strategist at Caliber, talked about looking at creativity from a scientific point of view, to give us some useful advice for coming up with great ideas.

Emma’s top tips included:

Ideas in response to relevant topics do well, for example, Kit-Kat's campaign after to the bendy iPhone 6 scandal – "KitKat, ‘We don’t bend, we #break’"
Try Joy Paul Guilford's theory distinction between divergent and convergent production – coming up with lots of ideas to solve the same problem, rather than convergent thinking: whittling down to one black and white answer
Brainstorming can work, but it's not as effective as you might think – Some people are introverted, others are loud, and some sit and listen but don't contribute
Emma's solution: Start by outlining the objectives, then allow those taking part to brainstorm alone – this will prevent some ideas from being fixated. Once you've thought of all the ideas, bring them back to the group – now you can hash them out with others
A messy desk is better for creativity – keep it tidy when elaborating ideas
What's the best time to be creative? Many say getting up early is better, but now researchers say choose a time that suits you. As Emma puts it, "whatever rocks your socks"
Creative routines – find one that works for you and listen to your own body
Exercise is good for creative thinking – Lorenza Colzato says that exercising 4 times a week will help with creative thinking
Put pen to paper – the process of writing makes a stronger connection with the ideas in your head and helps your memory

Hannah Warder – How to guarantee a 0% response rate from blogger outreach

Twitter: @HannahWarder
Checkout the slides here

Next up was White.net's very own Hannah Warder, a digital marketing specialist and part time food blogger, here to tell us how to master blogger outreach.

Hannah started off by taking us through the steps of how not to do blogger outreach, which include a list of techniques that people still use:

Send emails to anyone and everyone
Write the email without giving it much thought, and don't address the recipient by name
Tell the blogger to jump through hoops without much of an incentive
Write it in a way that is likely to cause offence
Ask bloggers to place your content and be sure to specify the link that you require them to add, along with your non-brand keyword for the anchor text

Following these steps will help you to waste your client's budget, waste your time and have a negative impact on their brand.

If you don't like the sound of this (hard to imagine right?), then you may want to try to do it properly, considering the following steps:

Identify your goals
Make sure blogger outreach is right for your business – e.g. may not be appropriate for a company that sells computer cable
Carry out research to understand who the influencers are in your space and think about what would incentivise them to engage with you – for example, inviting food bloggers to a food & cocktail event at your restaurant
Make sure your email is relevant and include the recipient's name, as well as any other information that shows you've done your research and you're writing to them personally
Bloggers know about link building, so avoid being blatant and asking for a link. If they're happy to engage then they will probably link to you
Be helpful & friendly – don't underestimate the admin required, e.g. giving them directions to your event, sorting out tickets etc
Bloggers want to be loved so give them attention and always follow up with an email/call/tweet
Ask bloggers that responded well to your campaign if they know of others that may be interested in getting involved
Add people that comment on your posts to your list of contacts

You can read Hannah’s full post on this here

Mindy Gofton – Rich content for the cash-strapped

Twitter: @justhipper
Slides not available

Mindy's talk was based around how to get great results on a small budget of around 20-25 hours per month.

Mindy’s top tips included:

Think simple – answer pain points of customers/influencers then reach out to these to grow brand awareness
Set expectations – educate the client to help them understand what they can expect to achieve and why the tasks are important
Get the client to help you out by sharing useful contacts
Get your client to manage their own social media accounts – this is far more efficient as they know more about their business that you do so are better equipped when dealing with their customers. Set up a workshop and show them how, rather than using their budget up to do it yourself
Agree how you will measure success, e.g. number of searches/followers/revenue/leads. Make sure the metrics are clear and that the client understands them, this way nobody will get any surprises
Understand your audience – identify who you want to target and what they like to share/what they're talking about
Engage with social media influencers and build lists. Call/email them and ask (hypothetically) if they would cover your content in a newspaper and be happy to share it – they will give valuable feedback and may be able to provide ideas to improve it
Always have a strategic plan in place – schedule all tasks in a calendar to understand the project as a whole and where the tasks/those responsible for delivering fit together within the budget. This will also help to give the client an overview of the project
If you realise you can't meet the client's expectations within the budget, find another way to do things. For example, the timescales required mean that you will miss a seasonal high
Keep it simple. For example, creating blog posts that answer questions that are being asked by your audience, with solutions to pain points
Make sure you have a buy in – ensure the client fully understands the purpose of the project and are happy with the ideas behind it

Laura Crimmons – How to implement an audience engagement strategy using content

Twitter: @LauraCrimmons
Checkout the slides here

Branded3's Social & PR Manager Laura Crimmons centred her talk on putting together a strategy to ensure that your content deserves engagement from your audience.

Laura's top tips included:

Ensuring you audience is at the centre of your campaign – don't just focus on links, but serve the audience to encourage engagement, however they decide to engage, whether it's a review, tweet or indeed a link
Understand who your online audience is – the online audience is generally younger, with more females
Find out where your audience hangs out – which social sites, forums etc. and look at how they engage with your brand within these channels
Consider where else can you target your audience and find out what they're reading
Create online personas to gain an understanding of what your audience looks like
Use social listening tools so that you don't miss any brand mentions
Find out who's visiting your site, who's talking about you and who's actually buying. Are people talking about you but not liking you? Why?
Check out your social platform analytics – find out who's on your social channels and why – how does this differ to your site visitors?
Spot trends in GA demographics and dig into behaviour on the site – your audience might be visiting your site but are they converting as you would expect?
Compare genders, e.g. pets very popular for the females but not so much with the males
Look at the top review sites to find which your audience are using – maybe your competitors are being reviewed somewhere that you're not
Once you know who they are, where they are and what they are viewing /sharing – think about why they might not be engaging with your brand
An integrated marketing strategy is imperative –be consistent by keeping the same message through all channels – online and offline

Stephen Masters – Storytelling tips for you to 'remember remember'

Twitter: @masterstips
Checkout the slides here

Stephen Masters from Red Rocket Media did his talk around considering storytelling when attempting to make a memorable piece of content, using the familiar "remember, remember, the 5th of November" as an example of a short rhyme that we all associate with the story behind Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot.

Stephen's top tips included:

Use Catchphrases, memorable slogans and symbols to help people to remember. For example, the poppy is a symbol that reminds us all of those that lost their lives in war, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields” which was based on events in World War I, or simply 'Movember' – sometimes a single word is enough
Lines from movies: life is like a box of chocolates – we hear it and we know what it represents, which gets us thinking about the story behind it
Use memorable titles/cultural references or puns – twist memorable quotes to fit your slogan
Repeat slogans – "a memorable rhyme stands the test of time". For example, when we see "have a break", we all think "have a KitKat"
Highjack competitor slogans or use topical events to inform your campaigns. For example, Lidl's "Every Lidl Helps" which is very similar to Tesco's slogan, or KitKat's 'We don’t bend, we #break' in response to the bendy iPhone 6 stories
Use notable & quotable content, such as summarised facts and stats, making it easy for others to use and share your story
Consider episodic memory. We remember specific events – part of this is that we associate them with emotions and feeling. Images statements and smells trigger memories
Hooked on a feeling – we get hooked on emotion or arousal which creates a deep routed memory
Hindsight bias – we rewrite previous judgements based on new information. For example, somebody does something wrong – you may say I never liked him", or I knew that was going to happen" – did you? People change their views based on events
Trigger recognition by being consistent with imagery
Use cliff-hangers to leave people wanting more – the Zeigarnik Effect states that you're more likely to remember incomplete tasks than completed tasks. For example, – waiters are known to be able to remember all orders, until they are paid, then the task has been completed so they forget them. Unfinished tasks are more likely to stick in your memory, so a cliff-hanger can leave your story incomplete and therefore stay in people's minds
Make them want more – push emotional buttons and leave things open-ended

Tom Bailey – Digital Video – Getting your hands dirty and avoiding newbie mistakes

Twitter: @bomtailey
Checkout the slides here

Tom Bailey is a creative producer from Shy Camera, who came to tell us about video content and why it's a big deal.

He began by talking about how fast technology is moving, making video content accessible to all, with a smaller price-tag than ever before.

The effects of this digital revolution mean that you no longer need to go to a fancy agency to get great results. This has given us an increase in 'bang for your buck', making the big projects cheaper than you would think, but making the smaller tasks within reach of smaller budgets, such as conference filming, interviews, demos, blogs, instructions etc.

Tom's top tips included:

Don't be scared to replicate – a lot of smaller videos have standard formats that people expect and feel comfortable in. Find some video content that you like, pull it apart and make your own version – look at YouTube for inspiration, such as guides
Sound REALLY matters – it's easy to get a clean crisp image, but sound can be easily messed up. Microphones aren't expensive, so don't rely on the built in mic that comes with your camera
Plan, Plan & Plan – write up on paper/post-it notes and plan it to death – be clear about exactly what it is that you want to capture
Screen test your people and keep an open mind – you may have a clear idea of who is going to play the parts, but people are different on camera so screen everyone you can and vote the best ones in
Help your editor. Editing isn't seen as the fun part – with your planning, the editor should be very clear of what you want, but help out by guiding them through it
Always remember lighting – natural light is not a film makers' friend. In an ideal world, you will have a blacked out room to give you total control over the lighting. This is because natural light changes throughout the day, which can lead to over-exposure

So there we have it, a long list of takeaways that will hopefully translate to some actionable tasks across your content marketing campaigns. If you have anything to add, please feel free to include your comments below.

The post Top takeaways from the Content Marketing Show November 2014 appeared first on White.net.

Seth's Blog : The time to think about middlemen is before there's only one

The time to think about middlemen is before there's only one

I grew up near a mall that had 42 shoe stores. If a store didn't carry what you wanted, it wasn't a big deal to walk 22 feet to a store that did.

The core issue of net neutrality isn't whether or not a big corporation ought to have the freedom to maximize profit by choosing what to feature. No, the key issue is: what happens when users are unable to choose a different middleman?

In a town with ten newspapers, finding a newspaper that brings you the truth you seek is not a challenge. But network effects and lock in mean that in more and more arenas, there's a natural monopoly arising.

The simple example is cable TV. It doesn't pay to wire a town with five or six competing cable companies, and so we end up with one middleman. The simple understanding of net neutrality: When there's only one middleman, who gets to decide what you see?

When local retailers disappear, who decides what you can buy? Do we want a middleman to be able to lock content out for their own reasons? I think it's reasonable to have the following principal in place: Promote what you approve of, but don't black out what you don't.

We can argue that it's smart branding and good business to let your users have what they want. But often, corporate short-term interests fly in the face of long-term customer satisfaction, and the race to profit gets in the way of our culture's need to hear and see and read work that might not fit those interests.

What if search engines or ISPs decide to 'disappear' content they don't like? When there are plenty of middlemen, it's not really an issue. But when there's lock-in, it's too late to have this discussion.

We make a deal with the natural monopolies in our lives. They get the privilege and the profit of being the only one, but in exchange, they accept the responsibility of being open middlemen, of being neutral, of not blacking out those that don't pay up or that don't agree.

If ConEd or your local power utility said, "sorry, our electricity can't be used on Maytag appliances because they didn't pay a slotting fee," you'd be appropriately incensed. But when it happens to ideas, I fear the cost is even greater.

We live in the connection economy, a world based on ideas. When a few corporate titans can control the flow of those ideas and the essence of that connection, we've given up far too much.

• Email to a friend •

miercuri, 12 noiembrie 2014

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Pentagon Says "Stop Defense Cut Madness"; Mish Investigates Alleged "Cuts"
Tanks and Nukes: NATO Statements on Ukraine; McCain Will Go Ballistic
Historic Hype Over Global Warming Agreement With China; CO2 vs. Death-by-Pollution

Pentagon Says "Stop Defense Cut Madness"; Mish Investigates Alleged "Cuts"

Posted: 12 Nov 2014 10:46 PM PST

Thanks to the sequester (long forgotten by most), alleged "cuts" in spending were scheduled to happen automatically.

But no one is Washington is happy with that prospect: Not McCain, not Obama, not defense hawks, not Republicans, not Democrats, not anyone that I can find.

Obama labeled the cuts "draconian". The Pentagon called them "mad".

Undoing the "Mad Defense Cuts"

The following headlines will tell you everything you need to know.

On November 12, Reuters reported Pentagon Number Two Urges End to U.S. Defense Cut 'Madness'

On October 8, The Hill reported Obama Warns of 'Draconian' Military Cuts

On September 10, the Daily Beast reported Obama Wants a Blank Check to Fight ISIS—and Congress Is Ready to Give It to Him.

On August 14, Reason.Com wrote Effects of Sequester Cuts Were Overstated, but GOP Hawks (and Obama) Want to Cancel It Anyway

On April 1, the National Journal wrote Ryan Budget Calls for Return to Pre-Sequester Defense Spending.

"House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan laid out a budget vision Tuesday that goes beyond President Obama's request by ramping up defense spending beyond the caps in 2016 and restoring them by 2017."

Cuts? What Cuts? Where? When?

Before you can undo cuts, don't you first have to have cuts? Logically, one should think so. So let's investigate the cuts.

Impact of Sequester on Defense Budget

The Mercatus Center put the "cuts" in perspective on August 21, 2012 (see above chart) in its report Defense Spending Will Continue To Grow In Spite of Automatic Cuts Set By BCA.

As a result of Congress's failure to come up with a $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction plan, automatic spending cuts or "sequestration" set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) is set to take place from 2013 to 2021. As the threat of sequestration looms, concerns about cutbacks in defense spending have become a significant issue surrounding debates tied to national security and American jobs.

To understand the effects of sequestration on future defense spending, it is important to understand how the BCA spending caps and sequestration apply to the base defense budget alone and when war spending is considered.

The expansion of the defense budget starts with the Department of Defense's base budget (green region), which is the legal amount of spending approved by Congress. The base budget does not include war costs – categorized as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) – for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other defense operations. Therefore, the additional costs for funding wars (blue region) are included in the chart to establish a full picture of defense spending.

As the chart shows, defense spending has almost doubled in the past decade in current dollar terms and will continue to grow in spite of automatic cuts set by the BCA. Clarifying these figures reveals that sequester cuts do not warrant the fears of policymakers who warn about "savage cuts" to the defense budget.

Washington Compromise

As I have pointed out before, the way compromise in Congress works is both sides get money for whatever ridiculous programs they want.

Recall that the sequester (automatic cuts) was supposed to force bipartisan compromise on tackling the deficit. It didn't. Both sides opted for the sequester instead.

The sequester called for a reduction in future budget increases (no actual cuts anywhere except a trivial amount in the first year). Now both parties complain about "draconian cuts" that never happened.

Reductions in the rate of future budget increases will now be restored.

What a bunch of hypocrites. It's sickening.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Tanks and Nukes: NATO Statements on Ukraine; McCain Will Go Ballistic

Posted: 12 Nov 2014 03:42 PM PST

In the wake of renewed fighting following the breakdown of the Ukraine ceasefire agreement, Nato Accuses Moscow of Helping Ukraine Rebels to Carve Out State.

That Russia is helping the rebels is certainly believable. Yet, some of the NATO statements are so preposterous that everything NATO says is suspect. Let's take a look.

NATO: "We have seen columns of Russian equipment, primarily Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defence systems and Russian combat troops entering into Ukraine," General Philip Breedlove said on a trip to Bulgaria as fears mounted that a tenuous ceasefire would collapse.

Mish: Where can you hide a tank? More importantly, where can you hide "columns of equipment, primarily tanks"? If columns of tanks were heading from Russia into Ukraine, both US and NATO would have satellite images. So where the hell are the images?

Other statements by NATO appear more reasonable.

NATO: A Nato military officer told the Financial Times that the alliance believed Russia now has around 8 battalions – equivalent to as many as 6,400 men – in a state of high readiness on the border with Ukraine. The number of Russian special forces soldiers operating already inside Ukrainian territory has increased from 300 to between 400-500 in recent days, the officer said. The deployment of sophisticated modern weapons systems has become a particular concern.

Mish: Is it believable Russia massed troops on Ukraine's border. Yes. 6,400 men? Who knows? I don't. But where are the images? Can you hide 6,400 men? The problem regarding men is that even if NATO does provides border images, those counts are not necessarily believable unless one can prove when they were taken.

Are there 400-500 Russian special forces in Ukraine? That's certainly possible, even believable. But are those "special forces" volunteers or were they ordered by Putin? And by the way, isn't that much smaller than previous Ukraine estimates that pegged the number of special forces at 2,000-5,000?

BBC Chimes In

The BBC reports Russian Troops Crossed Border, Nato Says

NATO: Nato's Supreme Commander in Europe General Philip Breedlove has confirmed that over the past two days, Nato has seen columns of Russian armour, artillery and crucially - combat troops - entering Ukraine.

Mish: What about nukes?

NATO: General Breedlove also confirmed that Nato believes Russia is deploying nuclear-capable weapons to Crimea - a reference to reports that Russia is deploying short-range Iskander ballistic missiles there that could potentially be equipped with nuclear warheads.

Mish: That report ought to make McCain's hair stand straight up in shades of orange. No doubt McCain will use General Breedwar's assessment to get the US to send nuclear missiles to the Czech Republic. Should the US make such an offer, hopefully the Czech Republic declines.

Russia: Russian defence official Maj-Gen Igor Konashenkov said "there was and is no evidence" to support Gen Breedlove's claims.

Mish: We have heard the accusations on tanks before, repeated nearly every month by Ukraine. If there is strong evidence, can we see it please? Is that too much to ask?

Ukraine, the US, and NATO have had more than enough time to produce some images of convoys of Russian tanks rolling in over the border.

That they have not is strong evidence that NATO and Ukraine talk on tanks is mostly-to-all hype and little-to-no reality.

McCain Will Go Ballistic

Would Russia place nukes in Crimea? The idea is silly.

Russia knows full well McCain would go ballistic. In turn, Obama would agree to send more US missiles to Eastern Europe at US taxpayer expense. That is not a set of events Putin would want.

Unfortunately, McCain is likely to go ballistic anyway, precisely the reason for Breedwar's statement of "belief".

More nukes by any side, any place, is not going to ensure peace. Instead, nukes increase the likelihood of a serious accident.

Related Discussion Roundup

November 11: More Blowbacks: Russia to Build 8 New Nuclear Reactors in Iran; Putin Signs Another Gas Deal with China
November 09: Ukraine Split in Two; Expect Major Rebel Advance
November 06: Prepare for War: Obama Asks Congress for ISIS War Authorization; Republican Hawks Have War Plan Prepared; Clinton-McCain?!
November 05: Ruble Slide Continues; Russia Forced to Abandon Currency Intervention as Reserves Dwindle

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Historic Hype Over Global Warming Agreement With China; CO2 vs. Death-by-Pollution

Posted: 12 Nov 2014 10:39 AM PST

On Tuesday, China and US Struck Deal on Carbon Cuts in Push for Global Climate Pact.

In a New York Times Op-Ed, Secretary of State John Kerry reflected on Our Historic Agreement With China on Climate Change.

Agreement Summation

President Obama pledged to cut US carbon emissions by 26-28% of 2005 levels by 2025
China agreed to cap its emissions by 2030 (earlier if possible, but no guarantees)
China will expand zero-emission sources to 20% by 2030.

Is this a good deal? For whom?

Here is a little perspective on the agreement.

Carbon Emissions by Country

Under the agreement, the US needs to act now. China can delay for 5-10 years or more.

Questions of the Day

What will China's emissions be in 2030 by the time China's cap kicks in?
Is this deal worth the accompanied hype?

Some of the comments on the Guardian Live Blog are ridiculous.

For example: "Today's deal puts intense pressure on Australia to announce a target for post-2020 greenhouse gas reductions, writes my colleague Lenore Taylor."

Please look at the above map. Would it matter one iota if Australia cut emissions 20% by overnight? Heck, would it matter if Australia cut emissions to zero?

From a carbon perspective the answer is no. However, the global loss in Australia's resource production would be quite significant, far more than any alleged gain from carbon reductions.

Pollution Perspective

Actually, I am all in favor of China reducing pollution. The sooner the better, but without so much hype over "global warming".

China is literally killing hundreds-of-thousands of people each year with air and water pollution.

Smog is so bad in China that discounting cultural issues and love of homeland, no one in their right mind would choose to live there if they had other options.

Interestingly, 47% of Chinese Billionaires Want to Leave China Within 5 Years, Only 6% of US Billionaires Seek to Leave US.

Death-by-Pollution Stories

New York Times: Air Pollution Linked to 1.2 Million Premature Deaths in China
Telegraph: China's 'Airpocalypse' Kills 350,000 to 500,000 Each Year according to China's former health minister.
Bloomberg: China's Smog at Center of Air Pollution Deaths

Those headlines believable? You bet.

I have written about China's Pollution Problems over a dozen times.

Click on the preceding link and look at a couple articles for some truly nauseating pollution images. CO2 emissions are the least of China's pollution worries.

So please China, clean up your act, not because of global warming, but because you are poisoning the world right now.

China knows all that, and would have acted alone, with or without any persuasion from Obama or hype from Kerry.

Useless Feathers and More Questions

Did China commit to anything it would not have done in the first place, without an agreement?

If the answer is no (and it is), then what did Obama's "historic" deal accomplish other than put another useless "I did it feather" in Obama's cap, a feather that comes at relative expense to the US vs. China?

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com