There are billions of fascinating planets in the galaxy far, far away, but which one would make the best home?

The Star Wars universe is home to an incredible collection of planets. From the desert of Tatooine to the metropolis city of Coruscant, there are countless ways to live a life in the galaxy far, far away.

Of all the planets, though, which would provide the best place to live?

According to to research from Betway casino, we have complied a list of the planets and some pros and cons of living in each one.

BESPIN

Bespin is basically a giant ball of gas. The only thing keeping it hospitable is Cloud City. If you are wondering why it would be a good place to live is due to that fact that Lando Calrissian, the administrator, is the boss there and that dude definitely knows how to throw a party.

CORUSCANT

Coruscant is a bit more hoping that Bespin planet. Coruscant is entirely covered by a giant metropolis. It is also the home to the Jedi Council and the political centre of the galaxy. This is city life for sure 100%. If you are looking for the typical city life that this planet is where it is at.

There is a clear class system here on this planet though with over 1000 levels. So if your loaded with money it might be better for you than just the average worker, since the further down you go its like descending deeper and deeper into the pits of Hell.

ENDOR

Endor is the forest planet, which is also home to the Ewoks. Living here would be a nature lovers dream come true. It is blush with forest ands and trails. As long as you can get along with the little Ewoks, you will be happy here.

HOTH

I don’t know who would want to come to Hoth to be honest, which is a planet covered by snow and ice. Maybe if you were into winter sports, it would be nice otherwise outside of skiing, there is not much here to do. You also especially need to avoid the Wampas, who are very territorial.

NABOO

Naboo is likely one of the best planets in the Star Wars universe. It is the home of Queen Amidala, as well as Jar Jar Binks and the Gungans (which could be considered a problem if you hate Jar Jar like myself). The planet itself is full of culture and beautiful scenery. Honestly if Naboo is good enough for the Queen it is good enough for me to live.

As long as the Gungans don’t bother you too much, fun fact, Naboo was also the birthplace of the Emperor. As long as you can deal with those two facts, this planet might be the place to be if you can afford it that is.

TATOOINE

Tatooine is known best as being the home of Anakin and Luke Skywalker. When you think of Star Wars, this desert planet with two suns, is the first place that I think of. I think of the land as a farming community but everyone seems to earn their own way and I appreciate that.

Tatooine also has the cantinas, which can be a bit deadly if you don’t know how to work the crowds, but if you do it is the coolest of places to be.

ALDERAAN

Alderaan seems to be one of the most beautiful and desirable planets in the entire galaxy. It was also home of Princess Leia and the Organa family…that is until it was destroyed by the Death Star. Like Naboo, it was known for rolling hills, mountains, waterfalls. It was the planet that everyone wanted to live at, at least until it was blown up due to also being the unofficial home of the Rebel Alliance.

MUSTAFAR

Mustafar is a planet that no one wants to visit. It is comprised almost entirely of lava. It is also known as the planet where Anakin Skywaler was struck down by Obi-Wan Kenobi, setting up his new fate as Darth Vader. What is cool as hell is Darth Vader castle, which is located there but otherwise I couldn’t see a reason for visiting here.

DAGOBAH

Dagobah is a remote swamp planet where Yoda trained Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. Since it is a remote planet, there isn’t much population of places to live but if you are crafty like Yoda, you can make a hut and make it work in a very minimalist fashion.

There is no shortage of species though on Dagobah, some small and some big, so you got to pick your battles carefully. If you are looking for a smooth meditative place to get your force together and trained up this might be the place to go.

KASHYYYK

Last but not least is Kashyyyk, which is home to the Wookies. Kashyyyk is a jungle planet covered in giant trees. There are some beautiful beaches and treehouses for living it up and to relax at but there are some strange species here including giant slugs and spiders out there as well, so you better get some Wookies on your side to help keep you safe.

Frequently, I visit the casinos here in Tampa, FL for some retreat from the everyday hustle. Speaking of the hustle, you don’t need to even leave the house to get your casino fix. I am talking about “Willy Wonka Slots”, which is your lucky ticket to FREE authentic, casino-style slot machine games and the iconic cast of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! The game can be downloaded to your phones or smart devices right at home. You spin to win amazing prizes in this scrumptious free slot game! You can create your very own garden of crazy Wonka creations in Sweet Candy Crops, the newest mini game.

Speaking of the new mini game, you are able to get a chance to earn seed packs, sugar boosts, and big rewards. You then carefully have choose which scrumptious crops will go into your customized garden. You sprinkle your crops with a sprinkle of sugar to give them an extra boost and then choose the perfect moment to harvest the crops and get your credits! It is addictive blast!

If you are a fan of the this 1971 musical film, then look no further. There are free slot machines with your favorite characters and settings from the film. You are able to take a tour of Wonka’s factory and with each level takes you further into the Chocolate Factory and your favorite characters’ stories!

There is also a ton of bonus slots and free spin opportunities. This slot machine game gives you the chance to win BIG with the Daily Bonus, Streak Bonus and VIP Bonus. You are able to bet big with millions of FREE CREDITS and dozens of bonuses, as well as being able to double down with free spins and sweet JACKPOT payouts.

Of course there are other great sites online as well that work to assist from the working hustle. Since many players these days, don’t want to make a big deposit before getting to know the casinos that is why $/€5 casinos like, 5 deposit casinos, are becoming very popular. A $/€5 deposit casino gives the players a chance to enjoy the most fun without tapping into those savings or overstretching their budget.

If all that isn’t enough to convince you there is also the ability to play both online or offline, wherever you go. You can send and receive Wonka Bar gifts between you and your friends when you connect through Facebook. And my personal favorite that you can sync your level of play across all your devices. So don’t wait get it now and start enjoying!

A car accident can be a devastating event, both mentally and psychologically. After getting involved in an accident, you may start to wonder how you will recover damages caused by the other person’s negligence. There are many car accident attorneys in the United States and you will need to be extra vigilant to select the best attorney. Your chances of getting a good settlement lie with a strong representation

Accidents in the United States happen quite frequently, and if you happen to be in one, you might need an attorney to represent you. Choosing a car accident attorney is very important. You want an attorney that will represent your best interests as you focus on getting better. There are many qualities of a good car accident lawyers, and during your initial contact, you can easily identify them:

Excellent Communication Skills

An attorney-client relationship is one that needs constant communication for it to prosper. If your attorney barely answers your calls or replies to your message, then there will be a break in communication. 

You want an attorney that will call you with updates about your claim. Attorneys are usually busy, but they always try to return calls they missed. 

Experience

When in the first meeting with the attorney, ask them about their experience. Before you leave their office, make sure you have confirmed they have worked on numerous car accident cases. They should also have experience in litigation because your case might have to go to trial. Some attorneys have websites with their track record; you can visit their website and see for yourself if they have an excellent winning record. 

Legal Fees

Many people believe attorneys are very expensive and will only visit them when they have nowhere else to go. Most attorneys are affordable, and many of them work on a contingency when it comes to car accident cases. 

Contingency means that your attorney will get paid if you get the compensation by deducting legal costs, including their fees. Do not worry about paying out of pocket before the attorney accepts your case, but make sure you discuss legal fees before you agree to hire them for your case. 

Good Negotiator

Insurance companies have a notoriety of offering meager compensations and playing hardball until the claimant accepts it. A good attorney will spot the low offer from a mile away and demand a better settlement. 

There will be some back and forth between your attorney and the insurance company; hence, having good negotiation skills will increase the chances of receiving the insurance company’s best settlement offers. 

Use Referrals

When looking for an attorney to represent you, one of the first things you may consider doing is asking your friends or relatives if they know an attorney who can help you. At times, a family member or friends might have had a car accident a few years back, and a good attorney helped them get good compensation. Visit all the recommended attorneys and select the attorney you think will best serve your interests. Personal recommendations are good because you get to hear their experience instead of reading a client’s testimonial on the attorney’s website. 

You can also check their personality; see how they interact with other people in the office. Your attorney should be a person you can get along with without any friction. You will spend a lot of time interacting with them, therefore do not choose someone with a horrible personality.

Online gambling has seen exponential growth all over the world. Ever since the imposition of physical lockdowns and social distancing, the online gambling sector has become very popular even among people living in Japan, where most gambling forms are prohibited.

According to the country’s law, a person caught gambling shall be subjected to a fine or a petty fine of not more than 500,000 Yen. There are blanket laws in place that ban almost all types of physical gambling. 

Even though gambling is illegal and there are no legal casinos in Japan, gambling is still a popular entertainment form. It is legal in Japan to place bets on sports such as Horse racing, bicycle racing, motorbike racing, soccer, and powerboat racing. It is legal to place bets on National lotteries too. 

However, as far as online gambling is concerned, there are no laws in place legalizing online gambling sites. Hence online gambling in Japan falls into the legal grey area.

Currently, there are no major cases or records available to the public regarding people being prosecuted for betting or playing games on online casinos in Japan. Online gambling and online casinos in Japan are not covered under the Casino Acts, and as a result, there are no clear-cut regulations imposed on them. 

However, claims of online gambling being legalized in Japan have been dismissed by the government, stating that online gambling is illegal and there will be crackdowns and punishment on such activities. 

Japan has been witnessing an increase in its usage of offshore gaming portals ever since the pandemic. The Japanese have always been familiar with gambling despite their restrictive laws. Pachinko, a mix between a slot machine and a pinball machine, is a form of gambling that is very popular in Japan. A Pachinko player’s main aim is to try and control the pinball machine and try to save their steel ball for the longest time. 

A pachinko machine can process up to 100 balls per minute, and the game ends when the player loses all their steel balls or decides to end the game and exchange the steel balls for a prize. There are many Pachinko parlors all across Japan and are extremely eye-catching, inviting, and easy to access. You can exchange your winnings at the Pachinko parlors to get items such as cigarettes, electronic gadgets, groceries, silver, and gold. You could also win money indirectly as you could always choose to sell the prizes that you have won.

The Popularity Of Vera And John In Japan

Vera and John is an online casino company that is extremely popular in Japan. According to a study, it was the most popular casino platform in Japan, also because of easy Vera and John withdrawal. The casino site recorded a 119-fold jump in its monthly visits from Japan from 6,48,000 visits in 2018 to an astonishing number of 77.51 million in the year 2019

Some say that Vera and John was the reason for the growth of the online gaming community in Japan. The online casino platform was one of the first companies to enter the Japanese market who has managed to gain the attention of the Japanese players and their loyalty. 

One of the many reasons Vera and John became such a hit among Japanese players is its top-class language support, quality graphics, easy navigation, and diverse and wide range of online casino games. Vera and John have hundreds of online slot games, live casino games, and table games which are easily accessible on PCs, tablets, and mobile phones.

Are you wondering how to withdraw at Vera and John? The online casino platform offers its users easy transaction facilities where players can easily and quickly withdraw their winnings. They offer a wide range of withdrawal and deposit methods such as credit card and debit card payments, e-wallets, cheques, international wire transfers, and bank transfers. Apart from this, the company frequently runs several campaigns which specifically target Japanese players. This has helped them create a strong following of players from Japan. One could say that Vera and John have paved the way for other online gambling platforms to start and flourish in Japan.

Online Gambling In Japan

Since most forms of gambling are illegal, there are no physical casinos available to people residing in Japan. Everyone can’t travel to gambling destinations such as Macau to gamble. Hence, Japan’s online gambling sector has continuously managed to attract many players by providing them with a host of online games to bet on. 

Various online betting platforms now use marketing tricks such as displaying messages in Japanese to attract customers from Japan. Betting sites such as Bet365, Vegas Casino, Sloto’cash Casino, LeoVegas, and Bitstars casino encourage and welcome Japan’s players to use their betting platforms. The widespread advertisements of online gaming websites, ease of registration, and transactions have made it extremely easy for overseas players to register and play on online gaming portals.

Even though online gambling and most forms of gambling are illegal in Japan, awareness regarding the illegality of gambling is extremely low among people. According to a survey conducted on 1000 Japanese people by a group from Tokyo called the International Casino Institute, in December 2020, only 41% of the participants knew that online gambling was illegal and betting online was a criminal offense. 18% thought it was legal to gamble online, whereas the other 41 percent said it fell into the gray zone. 

Restrictions may be in place to stop people from most forms of gambling. However, the Japanese have always indulged in different forms of games similar to gambling to keep themselves entertained. Pachinko, Mahjong, Toto, and the lotteries are extremely famous and popular in Japan. They are classified as amusements and are regulated under separate laws. Betting on Horse racing, Bicycle racing, and various other motorsports are legal in Japan so even if online gambling and physical casinos are not available for you, you always have plenty of other legal options to place your bets on if you are from Japan.

Well, thank God that’s over. The final film award ceremony of 2021 is over, and not a minute too soon.

Viewers who tuned in to the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony (guilty, but I have a website. What’s your excuse?) were treated to un-enthusiastic presenters, amazingly long speeches (I’m guessing Questlove wasn’t told he could play people off) and an “In Memoriam” segment that looks like it was thrown together at the last minute. And can someone tell me how a show with no host, opening monologue and zero musical numbers – unless you count the embarrassing “Oscar Music Trivia” game that featured Glenn Close shaking her ass to E.U.’s “Da Butt” – ran almost 3 1/2 hours??

On a positive note, there were some great achievements rewarded. A woman of color (Chloe Zhao) was named Best Director, only the second time a woman has won that Award. Think about that. Out of 465 nominees only SEVEN women have been nominated: Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion, Sophia Coppola, Kathryn Bigelow (who won), Greta Gerwig, Ms. Zhao and Emerald Fennell, who with Ms. Zhao was nominated this year. Which means such female directors, like Penny Marshall and Barbra Streisand, have been totally ignored, even though in the past they had directed films nominated for Best Picture!

Daniel Kaluuya and Youn Yuh-jing took home the Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards, respectively, putting a slight dent into the #OscarSoWhite reputation.

Frances McDormand became the second actress to receive (3) Best Actress awards when her name was announced last night, putting her right behind the immortal Katherine Hepburn, who won (4). Meryl Streep does have (3) Oscars, but one was for Best Supporting Actress. Ms. McDormand picked up a 4th Oscar as one of the producers of the evening’s Best Picture, “Nomadland.” And whose idea was it to give the Best Picture award out early? Normally it’s the last award of the night, but on this night it was awarded before Best Actress and Actor were named. My hunch is that the producers assumed the late Chadwick Boseman, who was nominated for his final performance in the film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” would win, which would have made for a nice emotional way to end the evening. Instead, Joaquin Phoenix sheepishly announced Anthony Hopkins as the winner of the Best Actor award, and that was a wrap!

My beef with the “In Memoriam” segment was that, for some reason, the Academy figured if you were watching you knew who everyone was and what they did. An introduction that took u 1/3 of the segment, no film clips and, while known talents like Christopher Plummer, George Segal and Wilford Brimley got a few seconds of screen time each, others – among them Marge Champion (a great dancer), Shirley Knight (a fine actress), Kelly Preston (same) and Michael Chapman (an amazing cinematographer whose credits include “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” and “The Fugitive”) whizzed by in a blink.

The fact that only nominees and presenters were allowed to be in the venue also made for dull television. Smatterings of applause signaled that the guests in the theatre were apparently as bored as the ones at my house.

Blame it on COVID. Blame it on the fact that none of the films nominated were “NAME” films – no “Titanic,” “Avatar” or “Lord of the Rings” in the bunch. Blame it on bad television. There’s plenty of blame to go around.

For those of you who went to bed early, here is a list of the winners:

Best Picture – Nomadland 

Best Actor in a Leading Role– Anthony Hopkins (The Father)

Best Actress in a Leading Role – Frances McDormand (Nomadland)

Best Director – Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Youn Yuh-jung (Minari)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Father, Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller

Best Original Screenplay – Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell

Best Animated Feature Film – Soul 

Best International Feature Film – Another Round (Denmark)

Best Sound – Sound of Metal, Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés, Carolina Santana

Best Costume Design – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ann Roth

Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Matiki Anoff, Mia Neal, Larry M. Cherry

Best Live Action Short Film – Two Distant Strangers

Best Animated Short Film – If Anything Happens I Love You 

Best Documentary Feature – My Octopus Teacher 

Best Documentary Short Subject – Colette 

Best Original Song – ‘Fight for You,’ (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Best Visual Effects – Tenet, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley, Scott R. Fisher, Mike Chambers

Best Cinematography – Mank, Erik Messerschmidt

Best Production Design – Mank, Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale

Best Film Editing – Sound of Metal, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

Best Original Score – Mank, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

THIS COULD BE THE STRANGEST OSCAR CEREMONY EVER

In its 93 years the Academy Awards have seen some strange occurrences.

In 1973, Marlon Brando, who was announced as the winner of the Best Actor Award, sent an actress pretending to be a Native American up to the podium to refuse the award, citing the way Native American’s were portrayed in films.

The next year, David Niven was startled when freelance photographer Robert Opel decided to “streak” across the stage behind them.  I always thought that this was a set-up.  The camera angle was such that none of Mr. Opel’s nether-region was shown and Mr. Niven was awful quick and his quip: “The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is from stripping off and showing his shortcomings!” 

And, of course, who could forget the 1989 ceremonies when Rob Lowe and Snow White engaged in a musical number?  Only months before a sex-tape with Lowe and two women (one underage) had been released, which I’m sure upset the folks at Disney, who were already upset because they hadn’t given their permission for the character to appear.

But this year could be the strangest and most unpredictable ceremony ever.

Tonight, for really the first time since last year’s Oscars, nominees have been encouraged to be in attendance.  In the past year, shows like the Emmys have had a minimal crowd (usually first responders) and the awards have been “delivered” to the winner via Zoom.  Tonight we could actually see people walk across the stage to give their acceptance speeches.

Tonight also notes the first time that a streaming service has received more total nominations than any of the established studios.  NETFLIX leads the way with 35 total nominations, followed by Amazon with 12.  The highest number of studio nominations is 8, shared by Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Company.

Streaming has been the thing this year.  Though theatres are now open again, very few people are going.  The one closest to me, and 18 screen mega-plex, is showing films that range from current (GODZILLA vs KONG, MORTAL KOMBAT) to titles that are months old.  They are even trying to fill their screens with Bollywood features.

In the past year, I have seen three films in a movie theatre.  The aforementioned GODZILLA vs KONG and MORTAL KOMBAT, both in the last 2 months.  Before that, the last film I saw on the big screen was TENET.  And I LOVE going to the movies.

With the exception of TENET, every other Oscar nominated film or performance I have seen this year has been either on a streaming platform or a DVD screener.  A nice way for a critic to binge on what they need to see but also a way that takes the fun out of the movies. 

I enjoy going to the theatre.  Getting my popcorn and sitting in a room with 250 strangers who are about to share an experience with me.  I like hearing others laugh along with me and I like sitting in the silence and hearing if anyone else is crying at the incredibly sad scene I just witnessed.  And I like talking to people as we exit the auditorium, discussing what we saw and whether or not we liked it. 

I should note that there were no more than four other people in attendance at the three films I have seen in a theatre.  Which makes for a lonely exit conversation.

Hopefully after the awards some of the winners will be released to theatres.  That is how Hollywood makes a little more money off of their films – re-releasing them to theatres after the awards to get a post-Oscar push at the box office.  I, for one, would love to see MANK on the big screen.  It’s impeccable recreation of 1940s filmmaking would be glorious to take in on a screen 40 feet high.

However, there are also good reasons to watch the Awards this year.  Many of the nominees are a “pick-em” – there are no such things as “Titanic” nominated tonight.  But my fingers are crossed for two awards and the reaction they will receive. 

The late Chadwick Boseman is nominated as Best Actor for his amazing performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”  It is his last film performance and it is brilliant.  A victory here would not only honor a talent gone much too soon but will surely bring the house to it’s feet.

Secondly, tonight Glenn Close is nominated (for the eighth time) for her Supporting turn in “Hillbilly Elegy.”  Not only is she the best thing in the film, she is so overdue for a win.  Should she not win tonight, she will tie the late Peter O’Toole as having the most acting nominations without a win.  O’Toole did receive an Honorary Oscar in 2002.  A win by Close would surely trigger and emotional standing ovation.  It certainly will at my house.

To our community— 

As I write this, I’m filled with hope and excitement for the year ahead. There’s much in the works at ReedPop that we’ll announce in the coming months, but today I’m bringing you an update on the return of our physical events and the first look at our plans to promote health and safety.

To give you a peek behind the curtain, events folks have to plan six to nine months down the road. We must put ourselves forward from where we are today into where we think we may be tomorrow, and continue making the next best decisions.

Today, I share what we’re planning with this assurance: ReedPop’s number one priority is the wellbeing of the people that come to our shows. 

Right now, we see a path forward for safe, amazing events that are going to look a bit different than usual, so that’s where we’re heading. Keep in mind what we communicate is subject to change as state and local guidelines are adjusted. I encourage you to stay connected with us via our newsletters, social channels, and websites to keep on top of the latest information right up to the shows.

ICYMI, our schedule for 2021 is:

• Florida Supercon, Miami Beach Convention Center: September 10-12
• New York Comic Con, Javits Center: October 7-10
• Emerald City Comic Con, Washington State Convention Center: December 2-5
• C2E2, McCormick Place: December 10-12

With the return of physical events comes so much we were missing this past year. Supporting small businesses and indie creators more directly, old friends reconnecting, the energy of a panel room when a cast first takes the stage… 

I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I almost miss the awkward camaraderie of the women’s restroom line. Almost. 

Speaking of lines, let’s talk capacity and a few other key safety measures we’ll be taking…

1. We will be running all our shows with reduced capacity. With our new safety precautions in place, attendance and badges will be very limited so that we can ensure physical distancing. We’re working closely with each convention center to determine how many people are permitted in the building every day and at a given time. 

2.  We are requiring approved face coverings for all individuals attending our events, including our exhibitors and staff. They must be worn at all times within our venues. For more information, you can visit the FAQ pages on each of our show websites. 

3. Temperature screening upon entry will be required to enter our events. Anyone with an elevated temperature will not be permitted to enter the event. 

4. We will have increased sanitization and cleaning with enforced physical distancing throughout the event.

5. We have also adopted a firm no handshakes, no high-fives, no hugs policy. We’re all going to have to get very smooth and cool-looking at either the elbow bump or air high-fives. Please start practicing now.

I know there are a lot more questions than what I’ve shared here. You’re probably wondering what the heck a photo op may look like and how panel seating will work. We’ll be sharing more information in the months leading up to our shows, and we are committed to being as transparent as possible. 

Our goal remains the same: bring together our fan communities to celebrate the best pop culture has to offer. Alongside all of our physical events, we’ll be running a virtual event companion through FindtheMetaverse.com. So whether or not you join us in person, you can attend each of our shows and have a pretty excellent time. Save the date for the next Metaverse event — June 7-13 — and follow our newly launched social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

More announcements are coming soon with on-sale dates, guests, panels, and so much more. We promise it will be worth the wait.

Finally, thank you for your continued support in what has been a difficult time for our entire community. Thank you for your patience with us at every turn, and for your understanding as we continue to navigate the future of pop culture events together.  

Higher, further, faster,

Kristina Rogers (she/her)

US Comic Portfolio Director

ReedPop

Instagram is one of, if not the most, popular social media platforms worldwide. With over one billion users, Instagram seems like it would be the ideal place to gain a large following, however it is not so easy. Everyone wants to have as many followers as they can in order to have their content seen by as many people as possible, but gaining a substantial amount of followers is not easy. Whilst gaining followers is not as easy task, it is not impossible and there are ways to help your account grow. One of the easiest ways to get your account more visibility is to make use of hashtags. If you are new to Instagram, you might not know how beneficial hashtags are or how to use them effectively. Here is a short guide on how to use hashtags to increase your Instagram following.

What are Hashtags?

Hashtags are essentially a way to make your posts searchable. The hashtag is a hash or pound sign (#) followed by a keyword that relates to your content. The hashtag started on Twitter by a man by the name of Chris Messina. He used the hash sign with his friends when coding/ programming and brought the idea to twitter. Since then, the hashtag has become one of the most prominent features of all social media today, and many services such as TaskAnt, which makes finding the best hashtags to use really easy, it has become even more popular. Hashtags allow your post to be searchable and more discoverable, get more views and be shown to a much more targeted audience. When using hashtags, you need to ensure that you only use tags that are relevant to your page and your content, otherwise your posts will be shown to people other than your target audience which does not help grow your account.

What are the Benefits of Hashtags?

There are many benefits to using hashtags. One of the most valued benefits is that it helps you gain followers. When you post with hashtags you gain many more followers than when you post without them. Hashtags are vital not only to the growth of your Instagram following, but also to the growth of your relevant followers. Hashtags allow your posts to be shown to people who are specifically looking for content like yours. When you use a relevant hashtag, you will reach your target audience and therefore gain relevant followers who are much more likely to interact and engage with your content. Hashtags are one of the most valued features on any social media platform and are absolutely essential for the growth and success of any Instagram account.

Easier to Find Content

When using hashtags, your content becomes much easier to find. A hashtag essentially makes your post searchable for users. If someone were to search a hashtag that you used, it becomes much more likely that your posts will be seen by that user, and much more likely that you will be able to grow your Instagram followers. Another popular and clever option is to make your own hashtag that is specific to your account. This allows people to post under your hashtag and for you to have a hashtag that is account specific and therefore a great place to have all of your posts in one place besides on your Instagram profile. When using hashtags, because your content is easier to find, you following is likely to increase much more and therefore sales are also much more likely to increase. There is a domino effect that comes along with the use of hashtags which is very beneficial to any business.

Trends, Target Audience and Competitors

Instagram is a great tool to find out what is trending and how to incorporate that into your own brand. By looking at the trending hashtags, you see what people are looking up and that allows you to post under similar hashtags which will ensure that people will see your content. Besides getting a bigger reach from trending hashtags, you can also reach a more targeted audience, which is important for follower engagement. By using audience specific hashtags, you can also see what your competitors are doing to gain followers and keep an eye out for new marketing strategies.

Twitter has 187 million daily active users and is a popular place for people, brands and businesses to market. Brands use twitter to engage with their audience and this is an effective marketing strategy. Twitter allows you to increase brand awareness, keep up with the latest trends in your industry, promote your brand, drive website traffic and get instant feedback about your product or service.

For you to grow on twitter you need to measure your progress. This is important because it helps you gain insight into the quality of your audience and how many followers are engaging with your content. It also tells you how well your content is doing with your followers and if you need to adjust your strategy or not.

If you have never measured your performance on twitter before, it might be a bit confusing. Here are a few ways to measure progress:

Keep up with follower count and engagement rate

Another important way to measure your performance on twitter is to measure your follower count and how it grows over time. You should create a timeline to compare your followers past and present. It’s also important to check how much engagement you get compared to your follower count. Engagement is important because it helps you connect and establish a relationship with your followers which is good for your brand and business, and there are many growth services similar to Twesocial that can help you with that. If you engage, you will gain followers. It is better to connect and engage with your followers than it is to have a huge number of people following you that you do not engage with. Engagement establishes loyalty from your audience.

Use analytics on twitter

A good way to measure your performance on twitter is by using analytics. Twitter analytics gives you details and summaries about individual tweets, media and ad campaigns. You need to understand how your content is being received and you can use this information to measure success, formulate a strategy and make money.

There are also different twitter metrics that you need to track. The top 10 metrics include:

1. Average tweet performance: Includes average engagement rate, average shares and average retweet numbers.
2. Audience type: What is the primary gender of your audience? Where are your followers from, what are their hobbies and interests etc.
3. Engagement rate: tracking your engagement rate will show you whether you are successful in connecting with your audience.
4. Type of engagement: You want your audience to like, retweet or comment on your tweets to show their commitment. Retweets and comments are more valuable than likes.
5. Content performance: Look for a good impression to engagement ratio.
6. Brand follower growth: analytics enables you to track how quickly you are growing your follower base by looking at your performance on a week-by-week basis.
7. Impressions: Shows you how many people see your account each day.
8. Video completion rate:  Video views on your twitter analytics shows how many people have seen and played your videos and completion rate shows how many people watched the whole video.
9. Hashtag performance: Gives insight into your most used hashtags and most engaging terms.
10. Return on investment: To make sure the money you are putting into twitter campaigns are coming back to you in the form of new customers and conversations.

The most important metric is engagement rate, hashtags, follower growth and impressions.

Check which tweets are most popular

You should always check which tweets perform the best and are the most popular. Pay close attention to the time that the post was tweeted, what the tweet was about and what the format was (whether it was an image, video or meme), as this can help you to get Twitter followers easily and effectively. Also check if tweets that are similar are as popular and keep in mind that there are different times where followers are more active.

Track hashtags

Hashtags are twitters most popular creation. It is not possible to run a social media Champaign without hashtags. Stick to a few popular tags to help gain your tweets more attention and then over time you can experiment with different hashtags to see which ones are best received.

To track your hashtags use Sprouts Social outbound. They provide insight into your hashtags and most engaging terms. Tracking hashtags shows what people are talking about and how many of your hashtags are used. This helps you strategize which hashtags to gain the most engagement.

Have you recently discovered that in order to grow on social media you need to have good, meaningful engagement from your followers and other users? Do you feel like the engagement on your social media account could be much better than it is but aren’t sure how to get it up?

One social media platform that seems to be taking all other platforms by storm and making the lead, is Instagram. Instagram has only grown more and more popular since its launch all the way back in 2010 and has managed to gain over 1 billion users making it a great place for both businesses and individuals alike to get noticed.

Over the years Instagram has gone through a lot of changes and if you haven’t used it in a while or it is your first time, you might not know the best way to use it. If you would like to increase the engagement you receive on Instagram, here are the best ways to do that.

Engage before and after posting

As mentioned earlier, engagement is everything hen it comes to social media, but in order to get any engagement, you need to engage with other users yourself. Not only will this encourage engagement but it will also give you a chance to get your name out there to other people who may not yet know about you.

Great ways to engage with your followers is by responding to comments on your posts, liking their posts, sharing their content, following them back, replying to their direct messages, or using a growth service that could do that for you. If you are interested in trying out a growth service, you can read more about Growthoid here. If you want to engage with people who don’t follow you, you can do the exact same things, like following them, commenting on their posts, and liking their content.

Post at the right time

Engagement is everything when it comes to social media and marketing on social media, especially when it comes to Instagram. A great way to ensure you can increase your engagement is by making sure you post at the right time. It may take a little while to figure out what the best time to post is, but through your different statistics on your account, you can figure out what time is the best and most optimal time to post in order to reach the most amount of people.

You will always need to consider what time zone your target audience live in, what kind of work they will be doing, and what times of the day they are most likely to be on Instagram and this give you the best time for you to post every day.

Use all formats when posting

Instagram initially started off as a place where you could only post picture to your feed. As the years have gone by, you can now do so much more than that. Newer features added to Instagram include allowing you to post both videos and photos to you stories, feed, and reels, as well as a section called IGTV where you can post longer videos, and a place for people to livestream.

If you are looking to increase your engagement, you should not only be posting to your feed, but rather making use of all the different features they have to offer you. Not only will this allow you to post multiple times a day and reach a much larger audience, but you will because to reach different audiences and demographics within Instagram.

Use different story stickers

Stories on Instagram have made social media a whole new ball game. When posting stories there are a variety of different filters, texts and fun little things to add afterwards that can just make it the much more entertaining. Some of the best things that have been added to the story feature are sticker. You get your standard sticker that sire just little things you can put on top of your post to make it look cute, and then you get sticker that can actually increase engagement such as the ones which allow you to have questionnaires, ask people anonymous questions, or even do polls. People are very likely to interact with your account, and you can gain more Instagram followers fast if you make use of them because they are so quick, simple, and easy to navigate.

Have you just downloaded TikTok and are looking for the best ways of getting followers as fast as possible? Have you had a TikTok account for a while but just can’t seem to get your follower count up?

TikTok is a relatively new social media platform to the game, having only been launched back in 2016, but it has since amassed over 1 billion active daily users making it the most popular social media platform to date. More and more people are downloading TikTok every day and it has now become one of the primary sources of entertainment among young users. There are millions of viral videos popping up all the time and trends that are frequently being copied.

Although there are so many users on the app, it’s not as easy as it seems to do well on TikTok because there is so much competition and it can be hard to get noticed, which is why many growth services like TokUpgrade have been launched. TikTok requires hard work and dedication, and if you want your new account to do well, here are a few tips to help get your first 100 followers.

Have an attractive profile

One of the first things thing you will have to set up when creating your TikTok account, is your profile. You profile is so important when it comes to practically every aspect of TikTok because it’s how people will recognise you and notice you. If you have a plain and boring profile you are more likely to be looked past.

You should always start off your profile creation with a catchy and easy to remember username. Make sure to keep it short and sweet, and easy to spell. Next up you have your profile picture. This is one of the most important parts of your profile as it will be what people will use to identify you. When choosing a profile photo, be sure to choose something that will still be able to be seen even in the small little icon, it should also be something that is suited to the tone a voice of your account. Lastly, in your bio, you should have something catchy and fun to say while also describing exactly what your account it all about.

Use hashtags for exposure

Hashtags are one of the greatest tools to ever have come from social media and there are so many reasons why. The biggest benefit of using hashtags in your content it because it allows you to reach an audience that might not yet follow you, but on top of that, because a hashtags is a searchable key word, by including a hashtags in your content, you are also directly targeting your content to an audience that is most likely to enjoy it.

This means that by adding hashtags to your content you are actively increasing the amount of people who see it, which in turn will allow for more people to see your account and potentially follow it.

Engage with others

Many people think that just by posting as much as they can, they give themselves the best shot as getting as many followers as possible, but without anyone to see your content, there is no point in posting so much of it. This is where engagement comes in. Engagement it key when it comes to any kind of growth on social media because people won’t always just follow your account just because they’ve seen it. A great way to engage with your followers, and effectively gain more of them, by actively following people, commenting on other people’s posts, sharing other people content and just making yourself visible to other users through engagement like this is no doubt one of the best ways for you to get noticed and for people to follow you. 

Create good content

It’s all good and well to have the account, but now you need to post because no one is going to follow an account with no videos. Your content needs to stick within the lines of what TikTok users enjoy, which is content that it in the moment and authentic, but it also need to be funny, and original. You content should also have a niche which will allow you to target people who are interested in that specific niche. By having good content, you will always be able to grow your follower base.

Creativity is not only for the chosen ones. Even famous writers often face a lack of inspiration and need to practice creativity to improve their writing skills. If you come up with such a problem, do not be obsessed — all you need is to follow some useful tips that can help boost your creativity to the highest level. 

Image Source

10 Useful Tips to Boost Your Creativity

Undoubtedly, everything requires practice, and creativity is not an exception. Sometimes, students seek the assistance of writing services — you can read some essay writing service reviews to find out whether it is effective or not. Also, some methods and techniques can improve creative writing. Here you can find helpful advice and some techniques for practicing creativity and improving writing skills. 

Find the Person to Inspire

The first thing to do if you lack inspiration is to find a creative person from whom you can get some insights. If you have a favorite writer, read more of his/her essay samples and literary works. If the author of your book is a modern writer and is still alive, you can watch or read an interview. Writers often share some secrets about how they find inspiration or practice their creativity. All in all, you should learn from the bests but not copy them. 

Create a Person Based on Someone You Know

The next useful method to practice creativity is to create a character based on your best friend’s personality, relative, or just a person you know very well. Writers often create different characters, especially main ones, by choosing a prototype which is a real-life person. It will be easier to describe your friend, as you know how this person acts in different life situations and what personality traits he/she possesses.  

Make Checklists 

The majority of books on how to improve writing skills recommend making checklists to practice creativity. Right from the moment you have an idea in your mind about what to write, start making a checklist of the details you will need to develop a storyline. Think about everything you should consider while writing a story, novel, or something else — do not forget to include the description of the environment, details about the character’s traits of personality, their appearance, and so on.  

Practice Freewriting

Practicing freewriting is also an excellent way to help you master your writing skills and boost your creativity. Freewriting is when you write without any specific structure, notes, outlines, editing, and so on. Thus, all you need is to follow a flow of mind. Stream of consciousness often helps to find words and plot to write about. When you try it for the first time, you may get something that is impossible to read. But if you will continue to practice, you will improve your writing technique and free your creativity. 

Find the Environment that Inspires You the Most

One more helpful piece of advice is to change the environment. Those people, who spent a lot of time sitting and writing at the same place, lack inspiration and creativity. You can try to write in another place; for instance, go to a local cafe, relax for some time, drink some tea or coffee, and then start writing. You will be amazed at how a new place can change your perspective and improve your writing skills.   

Use Mind Maps

Students often consult various useful websites to find out some useful tips or writing techniques to boost creativity. Some of them recommend applying mind maps and flowcharts in the writing process. The main aim of mind mapping is to visualize the idea and main concepts that will be the background for your piece of writing. Draw a bubble in the middle of the paper and write the central topic in it. Then, place subtopics around the main subject and add some details for each. In the end, you will have a clear vision of what you are going to write.  

Try the Snowflake Method

The snowflake technique is the next useful method to practice creativity. It is a type of brainstorming when the writer starts with the basic story summary and then moves to additional elements. Before starting a novel, describe a bid idea in 1-2 sentences. Then, transform these sentences into a finished paragraph by adding some characters and their main personality traits. Continuing writing in such a manner will help you create a storyline and plot and end with the finished novel or other writing pieces.

Get Outside More Often

This advice is very simple and may sound trivial. To enhance your creativity, you should get outside as often as it is possible. Fresh air has a good effect on the brain and process of thinking. Also, you can go for a walk in your favorite place. After your walk, you will be full of positive emotions, energy, and new ideas and insights, which you can apply in writing.

Search for New Emotions

Positive emotions and new experiences are also necessary for improving your creativity. Sometimes, a person needs new impressions to feel the flow of creativity. You can start a new hobby or just travel somewhere. With the arrival of new emotions, the person often feels inspired and full of ideas. That is why do not forget to search for various experiences to improve your creativity.   

Meditate 

Meditation is also a good way to ease the process of writing and find additional inspiration. If you want to have good creative writing skills, it does not mean that you should spend all your time practicing. Of course, you should have enough time for relaxation. You can try to meditate. During this activity, you will free your mind and increase your creativity. After practicing meditation, you will be open to new ideas and insights.

Final Words

All in all, various techniques and methods help one practice creative writing. Nevertheless, do not forget that, sometimes, you just need to have a rest and search for new emotions — all these will definitely help you feel more inspired.

When your house starts feeling dated and sort of drab, you don’t need to look for another place to live. You want a good contractor to renovate your home – top to bottom. A good professional can create miracles and the only problem is how to find the right one. Here’s all you need to know about choosing the right contractor.

1. Make a plan

Maybe top to bottom is not really necessary, maybe it’s just the kitchen and dining area. You need to decide what is the extent of the renovations your house needs. Write down all the work you’d like done so you’ll know exactly what to tell the contractor.

• Make a list of contractors in your area

The first thing you’ll want to do is google the home contractors in your area. Check out their websites, look at ratings and customer google reviews and write down the ones that seem OK to you. Check out their Before/After galleries.

Also, it’s always good to ask around, talk with friends, family or neighbors and see if they can recommend somebody they’ve worked with and add them to your list.

• Ask for quotes

Contact all the contractors on your list. Explain the kind of work you have in mind and ask for an estimate. Don’t be surprised if their estimates fall in the same range, but be wary of those who go over the top or make a really low offer. You can also ask for a time estimate since such projects typically turn your life upside down. You don’t want to live on a construction site for the next six months!

• Interview the selected contractors

Next step is to ask to meet the contractors on your shortlist. Have them come by the house and talk to them about your requirements. Listen carefully to their solutions. You want somebody who sounds competent and comes up with easy solutions. Something that sounds overly complicated will probably end up costing a lot and might turn out quite unnecessary.

• Ask for references

Besides checking their online reviews, ask to talk to former clients. See if they were satisfied and ask if the work was delivered within the agreed time frame. Most important ask if the contractor stayed within the initial budget or did they keep making demands for more money.

• Ask for a criminal background check

If these people are going to be in your house for a long time, they’ll also have access to your valuables. It’s always smart to ask for a background check. Ask the business owners if they run background checks on their employees. You don’t have to be ashamed to ask such a thing. These guys will be in your house and around your kids for weeks if not months. You don’t want dangerous people in your house.

If they cannot provide police checks for their employees, suggest using an online character check agency that sends you back the results in a couple of days. It won’t inconvenience them in any way since everything is done online, applying for a background check only takes a few minutes and you can do it over the phone even. It’s easy and it gives you peace of mind. These days, criminal record checks are relatively easy to obtain. In states like New South Wales, you can apply online. It is also important to note that police checks do come with a small cost involved and even in places like NSW (e.g. Sydney) whilst you can get a police check in NSW online, you cannot get a police check online in NSW for free which is a common misconception when people request police character checks. There is no such thing as a free check as you will see from the official website link given here. They normally cost around $48 AUD or so so keep the cost in mind.

Now that you’ve made up your mind, make sure to read the contract carefully, including the fine print. The devil is in the details, you know that. Good luck with your project!

KISS “Word Art” Apparel

LA Pop Art

Our Score:  5 out of 5 stars

KISS and LA Pop Art recently announced the launch of a branded “Word Art” line of apparel that celebrates the legendary band’s enduring magic. “You wanted the best; you got the best!” LA Pop Art and the “Hottest Band in the World” Kiss have teamed up to launch a new line of unique apparel. Just in time to commemorate their End of The Road final tour, LA Pop Art has used “Word Art” to create the iconic KISS logo out of their popular song titles and the famous makeup of the Demon, Starchild, Catman, and Spaceman.

LA Pop Art founder Joseph Leibovic had this to say about the collaboration.

“There has never been a band like KISS and there will never be another band like them, We wanted to honor their legend with a truly one-of-a-kind design that is a must-have for any KISS fan.”

LA Pop Art continues to hit it out of the park with their unique word inspired art and the newest KISS partnership is no exception! We checked out one of the new t-shirts and were very pleased with the product. Printed on high quality soft cotton the art jumped of the shirt and looked great in the basic white on black styling. It was fun trying to find the different songs titles and count just how many different songs were used to create the new take on the iconic Kiss logo and face paint. Another great feature is that the design is offered in a wide size run for men, woman and children. This makes it super easy to find matching shirts for loved ones when we are finally able to catch the remaining legs of the “End of the Road” Tour in person.

This fully licensed KISS merchandise is boldly printed with pride in the USA and is also available on sweatshirts, tote bags and more. Kiss “Word Art” apparel can be purchased at LAPopArt.com, Macys.com, Amazon.com and through select quality retailers. 

The company’s full line of products are available at www.lapopart.com.

We all know that the TV and movie industry always typecast their actors and roles, surrounding movies within the gambling industry. Therefore, you often see those same types of actors consistently within the movies that are released on a year-on-year basis. Suppose some actors are just really good at hitting the spot, when it comes to acting perfectly, right?

NetBet and Casino777.es are great casinos that can suffice your gambling, should you be reminiscing right now on the casino gambling life, after seeing the great actors we list and remembering the entertainment value that gambling brought them (and you too from watching!). Continue reading to see which actors are listed as the most common stars when it comes to gambling movies.

Matt Damon

Matt Damon is an Oscar winner; we all know this. So, in all honesty he is not type casted, as he is able to act in any genre possible. We have seen him in action, drama, and so on. Yet we are sure you have probably watched the renowned movie Rounders, released in 1988. This movie actually introduced him into the gambling sector and left a super great impression in Hollywood. It led him onto greater and better things too! Ocean’s Eleven needs no introduction as it left a huge mark on the casino movie industry. Of course, if you combine Matt Damon, with a bunch of other great actors, the movie will obviously go down in history and hold epic proportions within the movie community-gambling or not.

Matt Damon went on to play his role further in the new releases of the Ocean’s Eleven; Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen and Ocean’s 8. In each and every movie, Matt was able to bring an energy that reflects a hungry and eager gambler. The enthusiasm was believable, and that is when you know that an actor is good at what they do, as it is so believable. So yes, Matt you most definitely qualify as an actor perfect for the gambling scene, if we may say so ourselves!

Robert De Niro

Would this list even be valid, if we did not qualify De Niro in our lists? Robert is known for his heightened acting skills, and of course his role within mafia movie Godfather, really did give him a great reputation as an actor. There is no doubt about that. Robert’s performance within the film Casino, playing the character ‘Ace’ highlighted how versatile he is as an actor, even more. His character was charming with an underlying sense of ruthlessness.

De Niro even brought humour to his next casino role, Last Vegas. His acting skills were massively showcased here as he went from Mr narcissist to a comedian with some serious ability to make the audience laugh-we know we did. Despite the change in character and style of acting, he is one of the most respected actors today and will always be given roles most of the time now, without having to even audition. Why? He has proved his value, especially in the gambling genre specifically. So, we expect to see him again very soon within another gambling franchise.

Sharon Stone

We got to put Sharon Stone in this equation for gambling movies. Not only is she a very credible actress for the 1990s, but she also managed to really set tongues wagging, with her impeccable performance within the movie Casino (alongside De Niro). Her role as Ginger McKenna made the acting gigs come in just fine, as the role was really iconic, witty and sultry. All actors often wish to get given a role as versatile such as this, because you basically can show off multiple action capabilities at once-and that is exactly what she was able to do!

The other movie which she got cast into (also gambling related), was The Vegas Strip War. This movie had less sex appeal than the Casino movie, yet nevertheless she was selected as the director knew of her versatility when it comes to acting. Casino hit all the categories for acting required to get her cast into it. In fact, many women that love to inspire their casino glam outfits these days, will always take inspiration from Miss Stone herself, playing Ginger.

Paul Newman

Paul Newman is seen as one of the greatest actors within the Hollywood business. He graced the cinema screens with roles that really showed how fast and efficiently he can switch, in terms of one genre to another. We all know he’s of the old but gold actors, meaning his famous gambling roles are those that were made in the 60s and the 70s. The first one we will begin to mention, is The Hustler. It is a must mention. Created in 1961, this role has Newman playing Eddie Felson, the independently driven and confident cool that casino movies have never seen before. It is of course the fact that he is so good looking, which has allowed him to get the good roles that need such charisma. He managed to land the movie sequel to Hustler, called the Colour of Money, which had taken almost two decades to be released surprisingly.

James Caan

James Caan is another recognisable face from the famous Godfather series. That series immediately typecast him as someone who was very hard in character, yet deep down with a soft heart. James managed to land many gambling roles within his career. Las Vegas was the first, and this was a TV series in fact. Having the lead as a casino manager, Caan managed to play this role with the rigidity it needed, to then impress further and land the appearance within Honeymoon in Vegas. This role was unfortunately not as memorable nor did it impact as much as the other roles he featured in, however the movie the Gambler was what dominated his identity within the movie business for gambling. That role itself was huge for his career, and the movie itself goes down as a huge success for the value it brought to the movie making community. Even IMDB says so, they rated it a great 7.4 out of 10, which is not too shabby at all!