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We see a lot of games get delayed for Linux, but why is this? I decided to ask around about the difficulties facing developers when porting games to Linux.

I posed a question to a bunch of people involved in games development and Linux porting. I asked three simple questions, the same questions to each of them.

I've included links to get in touch with these developers, for any game developer wanting their game ported to Linux, these should be on your list.

First up, is well known and long-time Linux game porter Ryan “Icculus” Gordon [Website, Twitter]. Noted Linux ports include: multiple Unreal Tournament titles, Prey, Psychonauts, Killing Floor and plenty more.

Why do you think Linux games get delayed?
Ryan “Icculus” Gordon: Often times, for me at least, I get brought onto a project that has already shipped for Windows, made by a team with dozens of developers over several years. Almost always, I'm showing up for the race after it's already been run.

My attitude has always been that building a Linux game library--as in a historical archive of human creation, not your Steam game list--is important to the common good and that Hot Fresh New Bestsellers aren't.

This wasn't what you were asking; mostly I'm just telling you that I'm really bad at Capitalism. I understand why being a good _consumer_ demands that we demand same-day releases, but being defined by what we swallow and how quickly we get to choke it down is just not a way I want to live.

What do developers need to do to ensure a timely Linux release?
Ryan “Icculus” Gordon: The rare times where I shipped at the same time as the Windows version, it was because I was working with the team before they shipped, and was making portability changes in the same codebase everyone else was working out of.

- Don't make a game that depends on Direct3D. All the hard hard work is getting the thing to run with OpenGL.

- If you're building something big and complex, use Unity or Unreal Engine 4 so most of the heavy lifting is already done, and the Linux guy is mostly fixing and polishing instead of rewriting large pieces of complex code. If you wrote your own engine for a AAA-level game, expect a port of it to take 6 to 12 months. If this is a small indie game, this advice isn't so important.

(I usually have a lecture here about "use SDL, OpenGL, OpenAL, scripting languages, etc"...but honestly, the companies building big big games are way past the point where this advice is going to help.)

What is so difficult about bringing games to Linux?
Ryan “Icculus” Gordon: The first 90% of the work is getting it to compile at all. The next 90% of the work is rewriting the renderer.

And now we have Aaron Melcher of Knockout Games [Website, Twitter]. Notable Linux ports include: Xenonauts, SOMA, Shadow Warrior, Darkest Dungeon and more.

Why do you think Linux games get delayed?
Aaron Melcher: All other platforms have better total sales. There is no grantee that a game is successful and timing is everything. To hit release windows things have to get cut. If the developer has to chose to cut a game feature OR the Linux port, the Linux port will always be cut/delayed. Almost all of my ports are for games that have been proven successful and can afford to release a Linux version.

What do developers need to do to ensure a timely Linux release?
Aaron Melcher: Plan for the port realistically. Be able to easily develop Linux ports on Windows. Almost all other target platforms for games can be developed and deployed from a windows dev machine. The less friction involved with compiling a Linux executable the more likely there is a day one Linux release. We see hard examples of this from engines that have a Linux export target (Unity, Gamemaker, etc.). Even then there is always some amount of extra effort and without the fiscal motivation (large game sale potential) Linux ports will rank lower in priority.

What is so difficult about bringing games to Linux?
Aaron Melcher: Actually developing/testing on target Linux distributions. Debugging tools are foreign and primitive compared to what Windows/Mac developers are used to. Many game developers are not even super users so getting around on a Linux distro can be a challenge to the average developer. Even translating what a Linux player has in a bug report they send to a developer can be a challenge. Developers don't use Linux regularly (on average) so players are more informed of problems/solutions then them. This is not the case on other platforms for the most part.

Now for another point of view we have Ethan "flibitijibibo" Lee [Website, Twitter]. Ethan is responsible for the FNA project and tons of Linux ports like the soon to be released Charlie Murder & The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile and a great many more.

He went about answering the questions in a different way, so all three are essentially together in this one bit below.

Ethan Lee: You and I both know that these are age-old questions. They've not become any less important, but it makes you wonder what makes the same question remain interesting no matter how much time passes. On the surface, it's easy to give the most comprehensive answer possible:

Q: Why do you think Linux games get delayed?
A: Programming is hard.

Q: What do developers need to do to ensure a timely Linux release?
A: Don't make release dates.

Q: What is so difficult about bringing games to Linux?
A: Programming is hard.

While comprehensive, they are certainly very frustrating answers. Even to other programmers reading, it may seem like it's just a cop-out answer. But I suspect it's no different from what you get out of a typical interview, other than that it is a whole lot shorter in word count.

But much like how the best programming is done from data-oriented design rather than object-oriented design, a proper answer that would solve the mystery wouldn't be to please a crowd with the Cure-All Magic Potion, which is what people want, but to explain a solution to a real, actual problem, which is actually what's prevalent in the sort of work that we do.

The real actual problem, however, is different every time. So it's almost pointless to answer it just a single time without context.

I could bring up a point about how FNA XACT worked fine on CLRs where the GC doesn't compress unpinned memory but fails silently based on an exact point in time where, say, an OpenAL buffer is allocated at the same time the GC is reorganizing the heap even for blocks of memory that should be pinned but just aren't for some reason, but it turns out that is relevant only to Windows, which I suspect isn't what the readers care about.

On the other hand, I could talk about how a few games require specific Visual Studio C# compilers for all of its platforms, where it would then be relevant to making games on Linux stable and reliable, but that has no relevance to standard XNA games, much less programs not written in C#, which are in the majority.

Unless you count Unity games which are written entirely in C# by the game developer, but that's all game scripts run on top of a special branch of the Mono (or IL2CPP?) runtime which is wired to a black-box engine which could have various different behaviors on any platform (as is admitted even by Unity developers, particularly for things like CultureInfo behavior), no matter how much the developer worked to target each platform, all of which have different behaviors no matter what it is the game scripter does.

And that's on an engine that's supposed to have multiplatform support, which most don't actually have unless they're one of those licensed engines which at best only advertise it rather than actually have it to the extent that is the easiest to advertise without having dozens of asterisks that would undermine its alleged amazingness, but it's not that big of a deal because they'll figure it out eventually, unless it's """""open""""" source in which case we probably never actually knew but whatever because they can figure it out for us I guess.

But forget all that anyway, the games people apparently care about are on engines that are either entirely internal or are branched off to the point of being entirely self-made, where either way there's not even the facade of it working anywhere other than perhaps Win64/PS4/Xbone, and that may only be after it's been mutated from an engine that was Win32/360-only with some kind of demonic PS3-ish code path that might have only tangentially been relevant to *nix platforms had it not been written entirely with PPC intrinsics for even the tiniest of things because lord knows what it was like to get anything running on any console of that time, much less a console that was deliberately as difficult to work with as possible.

And that's with an engine that is wholly internal and thus we don't have a full understanding of how it works from the outside, and all the real legitimate answers that one could give to these questions are under NDA by order of either the owner of the product or the owner of the middleware, whichever is making it more inconvenient for someone who wants to actually explain why the grass is clipping through the clouds several miles high while no sound is playing.

Also, programming is hard.

Now we have Simon Roth [Twitter], developer of colony simulator Maia who wrote an interesting blog post titled 'How to delay your indie game'.

Why do you think Linux games get delayed?
Simon Roth: Two things. Firstly, I think lack of awareness is a factor. Some developers don't know about Linux, and so don't really plan for it. It's assumed to be a minuscule job and put off again and again until it is only considered approaching beta. That's when it's properly accessed and the time put aside for it breaches past the release date.

Secondly the financial aspect. If a Linux release will give a developer 2-5% more sales, they might put it off. Sometimes indefinitely. In pure business terms an extra round of localisations might be more fruitful for many titles (such as reworking aspects of a game for the Chinese market).

What do developers need to do to ensure a timely Linux release?
Simon Roth: A platform agnostic engine and a game that runs cleanly within the engine. It's really a no-brainer for most devs, since having multiple compilers building the same code is a good way to find some of the insidious low level bugs that make it past Visual Studio or Xcode.

What is so difficult about bringing games to Linux?
Simon Roth: On the porting front, many developers are still sitting on engines that have not progressed much beyond DirectX 9. Modern graphics programming has closed the gaps between the graphics pipelines, the older the pipeline the more time consuming a port will be.

There's also a surprising lack of people with Linux in their skill sets in the game development pipeline. Programmers who will work (well) on Linux are nowhere near as common as those comfortable on Windows and OSX.

It's even worse when it comes to testing, as you need quite technically adept QA to be able to work on many different Linux setups. This specifically has been particular trouble for my own development efforts.

Next up, we have Josh “Cheeseness” Bush [Website, Twitter]. Notable Linux ports include: Day of the Tentacle Remastered. He’s also writing his own game engine named icicle.

Why do you think Linux games get delayed?
Josh “Cheeseness” Bush: Personally, I feel the number one cause of delayed game releases or game ports are hurdles or priority changes that couldn't have been foreseen when previous timeframes were settled on.

I think it's worth considering that there are two types of "delays", deviations from internal timelines, and changes in dates that have been announced to future customers.

The first of these is normal, and is an accepted and acceptable part of software development. All the scheduling and planning we do when making a game isn't a hard and fast set of rules, it's a baseline against which to judge and compare the impact of changes so that every decision that's made along the way can be more informed. This flexibility is important because it gives developers the freedom to make the right decisions based on the insights they've gained during development. Remember that SimCity has its origins as a level editor for a shootemup, Halo was first envisioned as an RTS, and closer to home for us Linux users, Half-Life 2 underwent massive structural shifts later in development - by growing beyond their initial implementations, all of these titles were able to give players better and more enjoyable experiences.

Making games is a lot different from say, building construction, where millennia of industry culture anchored around our static laws of physics and materials that change very little from decade to decade has created a safe and predictable development environment that has very few unknowns.

By comparison, software APIs, hardware capabilities, development models, best practices and consumer expectations change near-constantly - it'd be more like trying to design and construct a building in an environment where at least half the laws of physics and your materials are different between any two given projects. There's a lot more exploring, inventing and iterating involved, and because of this, time schedules and budgets aren't the same kind of tools.

Thinking about the technical hurdles that hit Linux support at this level, it's usually a mix of unfamiliarity with what's involved, existing platform specific code, and needing to respond to other commitments to existing customers and deliverables.

Having Linux support fall behind other platforms is a sad reality that I think Linux users need to be understanding of. If a game is already released on another platform, then I'd have more respect for a developer who gives priority to existing customers over customers they don't yet have - the opposite only suggests that we'll be treated poorly when we are finally supported!

To some developers, staggered platform releases means more opportunities for press coverage and does offer more opportunity to focus on/engage with each platform's audience when it's their turn for release. Conversely, it means a lower initial player base and makes it a little more difficult for awareness of the game to travel via word-of-mouth when part of its audience can't play.

When a game is developed without ongoing testing of all target platforms, it's possible for platform specific code to creep into the codebase. Different compilers and different platforms tend to do things a little differently, and what works in one place happily might be a significant problem elsewhere. It doesn't help that Windows tends to be a little more slap-happy and code that might crash on Linux can still appear to run happily (while causing problems that aren't immediately visible or don't manifest themselves in significant ways).

Sometimes, a lack of familiarity, whether that's first-time Linux supporters finding some unexpected work when they realise that we generally have platform sensitive filesystems, or an experienced porter not being familiar with the testing and QA timeframes of a developer they're working with. Since so much of game development is carving a piece of software out of unknowns, there's a huge amount of room for unfamiliarity to impact on Linux development. Realistically, it's often impossible to understand how long a problem will take to fix until after it's been resolved.

Pressure and attention from expectant future customers can also slow down some developers, and it can often come down to a situation where for every 30 second "How's that Linux version coming along?" question that needs answering, there's another 20 minutes lost regaining focus and getting back into development.

Having to regularly give people answers that aren't "The Linux version is ready!" can also make it hard for a developer to feel positive about their work. Since developers who feel happy about their work are more productive than developers who don't, this can also slow things down a little.

The second type of "delay" is one that I think is the one that I would love to see more developers giving attention toward, and although they're usually the result of the first type, the way that they're handled is entirely different.

Handling these situations appropriately is an exercise in expectation management, and I think the slip-up that many developers make is in not helping their future Linux customers avoid making assumptions.

Some developers (particularly porters!) don't have the ability to speak openly about their projects, and sometimes that can lead to people making guesses or assumptions about the state of things - a situation that sadly often results in disappointment.

For many independent developers without dedicated PR people, it can often feel like the best option is to knuckle under and keep working instead of breaking momentum to stop and explain what's going on and risking making things take longer.

You might notice that few of these items seem specifically relevant to supporting Linux, and you're right. Generally speaking, Linux games are subject to the same kinds of pressures and hurdles and timeframe adjustments that projects on any other platform are.

The difference is that we just happen to typically be on the tail end, and when people on other platforms are happily playing their games, it becomes easy for us to have negative feelings when visible "delays" occur.

What do developers need to do to ensure a timely Linux release?
Josh “Cheeseness” Bush: Assuming that timely means "relative to other platforms", then the most effective way that I can think of is to develop games on Linux. In some ways, you can consider compatibility with your development/primary testing environment to be gained "for free".

As a developer, if you write a piece of code that doesn't compile or doesn't do what you're expecting on your development machine, you address it straight away (whether that's through debugging and fixing or trying a different approach).

You're unaware of any code that would crash/misbehave on platforms you're not writing on, and so don't have any reason to reconsider them, resulting in "platform specific code". The more of these that build up and slip through, the more work there is to do, and the longer they go unnoticed, the more work it's likely to take to dig them out without breaking behaviour on other platforms.

This leads to the second most effective way to keep Linux support up to speed with other platforms: treat Linux as a first class platform and include Linux builds in automated and manual testing throughout development. Platform specific code gets identified quickly, and even if it's not addressed right away, where it is and what implications it has are known and can be taken into consideration before making other functionality dependent on that.

Beyond that, if a developer can hold old off on releasing on any platforms until Linux support is ready, that prevents any Linux specific delay, but does mean delaying revenue - not something that all developers can afford to do.

For a lot of developers though, those options are difficult to embrace, either through ties to existing development environments, limited testing resources, unfamiliarity/uncertainty toward working with Linux, or contractual obligations giving certain platforms time constraints that other platforms aren't subject to.

For those, I feel the best option is to avoid talking about dates or timeframes until work is completed. If you haven't accidentally communicated dates that can be construed as deadlines, then there's nothing that can be seen as a "delay".

If a developer is finding that they're struggling to overcome a Linux specific issue, they may find value in reaching out either to any Linux users in their community, or someone like myself who's willing to lend a hand to help other developers have positive experiences.

Making use of enthusiasm and experience within the community can often help speed things along, but this can often require a level of open communication that some developers don't feel comfortable with or are unable to embrace.

What is so difficult about bringing games to Linux?
Josh “Cheeseness” Bush: I think each project has its own set of ups and downs, and even for those who do a lot of porting, there are going to be pitfalls and hurdles that slow things down.

Even when using engines with cross-platform support like Unity, or like FNA that in an ideal situation are a drop-in replacement for non-Linux supporting technologies, there's still often an issue here or there to address.

I develop all of my games on Linux, so this is thankfully something I don't have to worry about. The Linux ports that I've been involved with personally have been about as straightforward and friendly as ports possibly could be.

Over the years though, I've helped a lot of other developers overcome their own problems, and there are a few things that stand out to me.

When approaching something new, it's often easy to feel that problems are more difficult than they would be if they were in a more familiar environment. Less experienced developers pursuing Linux support have an additional psychological hurdle to cross (that's not to say that problems are trivial, just that it's harder to objectively assess them without experience and context).

Similarly, unfamiliar tools can be significant hurdles for people. For those not used to working with the debuggers available on Linux, embracing them can be an insurmountable challenge. Sometimes different tools require different workflows, and that too, is more disruption than some developers are willing to put up with. For some, new tools or alternative interfaces might help make working on Linux a little more accessible.

Third party Linux porters often have to deal with decisions made by upstream developers that were not made in the best interests of Linux builds. Many games are developed before Linux support is on the roadmap - for example, when working on Day of the Tentacle Remastered in 2016, I had to deal with the consequences of the original game having case consistency in include statements was important. There was no possible way for the SCUMM engine developers in the 80s to foresee that that would be a problem, but it increased the work I had to do regardless.

For developers doing in-house Linux support, this can be a problem too. It's not uncommon (though perhaps less common now than a few years ago) for a developer to make dependency, middleware, engine or other tech choices with the assumption that they will behave on Linux, only to later find that that those choices mean additional work is now involved.

I would like to thank each person for taking time out of their always busy schedule of being awesome. It's great to get some insight into how developers think on issues such as this, even if the questions are something that repeatedly gets asked, getting up to date thoughts from such developers is always a fun read. It's good to keep checking in too, so we can see how Linux has changed each time and if any new issues need addressing.

To sum it up: it seems like there's a rather large variety of issues developers have to deal with when bringing games to Linux including (but certainly not limited to):
  • Linux market-share
  • Case Sensitivity
  • Games branching off from the original engine and becoming a whole different beast
  • Design differences between DirectX and OpenGL (hopefully lesser so with Vulkan)
  • Programming is hard.
  • Summaries are hard.

We have a tough hill to climb as a gaming platform, so hopefully this gives you a small insight as to what developers face and think.

I think market-share is always going to be an issue, it's an absolute mountain we have to climb if we are to push our numbers up. Still, being small in terms of percentage isn't as bad as some think, since that percentage is of a large number it still means there's quite a lot of us. Just not a lot when in comparison to Windows.

When looking at NetMarketShare, in Q2 2014 we had a total share of ~1.58% and now in Q2 of 2017 we have ~2.14% with it being above 2% for 10 months in a row now. Doesn't seem like much, but that's likely quite a large of sum people. It's also pretty healthy to see us remain above that 2% spot for so many months in a row. Who knows, maybe in another year we can hit 3%? I can dream!

Hopefully you enjoyed a little longer read than usual from us!

Other well known developers were asked, but it seems others are too busy porting awesome games. Article taken from
Tags: Interview
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ertuqueque 20 April 2017 at 7:07 pm UTC
Fantastic article/interviews!
Leopard 20 April 2017 at 7:27 pm UTC
Netmarket Share statics is doesn't mean anything. They're all looking to Steam Survey and that is right thing to do. Not every user play games on Mac and Linux also even Windows.
Gryxx 20 April 2017 at 7:30 pm UTC
Hope to see more of similar stuff
Liam Dawe 20 April 2017 at 7:40 pm UTC
LeopardNetmarket Share statics is doesn't mean anything. They're all looking to Steam Survey and that is right thing to do. Not every user play games on Mac and Linux also even Windows.

There is no right thing to do when it comes to track Linux market share. What you're saying also doesn't really make much sense:
"Not every user play games on Mac and Linux also even Windows."
Exactly, so we should look to other ways to track it, not just the Steam Survey. Steam covers gamers, NetMarketShare is much broader.

Like with all surveys, they are never 100% accurate. People need to keep that in mind, which is why looking at multiple sources is a good bet.
edo 20 April 2017 at 9:47 pm UTC
QuoteCase Sensitivity

Everyone is wrong except linux, at least on this point

QuoteProgramming is hard.
True that. Thats why Linux need better tools, so devs can focus on what matters.
linuxjacques 20 April 2017 at 11:39 pm UTC
Wow. Your interview articles are really excellent.
Shmerl 20 April 2017 at 11:56 pm UTC
Great interviews!

QuoteDon't make a game that depends on Direct3D. All the hard hard work is getting the thing to run with OpenGL.

Or Vulkan I'd add for current times. That's really the major demonstration, how the whole point of DirectX is to tax cross platform development, to make it less affordable.
no_information_here 21 April 2017 at 12:32 am UTC
First: Thank-you to all these great game devs!

Second: Ethan's answer made me laugh...

Great interviews.
GustyGhost 21 April 2017 at 12:40 am UTC
A general attitude here seems that it's harder to port games which are older. But the good news is that older games tend to be easier to package in a wrapper or emulator!
natewardawg 21 April 2017 at 3:58 am UTC
Very fun read, thanks guys for your answers.
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Formal services are often pomp and circumstance. The installation of James Grier as dean of the Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary was a serious and thought-provoking experience, where participants unitedly sounded a clear trumpet call for the fundamentals of the faith. The response of Dean Grier was clear, moving, and profound. It showed reverence for the past, put theological education in perspective, and sounded a clarion call for the future. Following is a substantial part of the response. —Warren H. Faber

Members of the executive board, administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, distinguished and honored guests, and friends. I accept the challenge that has been placed before me. By God’s grace and with your assistance, we can build on the past and accomplish even more in the future for Christ and His kingdom.

I gladly and publicly declare my support of the theological foundation and educational philosophy of the Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary. As the dean of the seminary, one of the most significant tasks I have is to provide the climate and conditions for education that accomplish the mission of the school, and to do so in such a way that we achieve the highest quality of which we are capable.

In the realization of this task, I pledge myself without compromise to enhance understanding and communication. I will seek to be the catalyst for consensus and the facilitator of progress as we prepare servants for the church, and through the church for the world. We must take care in the administration of the seminary that we do not squander the opportunity for ministry that has been placed before us. Those of us who are part of the Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary community today have opportunity to shape the seminary of tomorrow.

There are two significant things I propose as benchmarks for the seminary. The first secures its relationship to the Bible; the second to its Baptist heritage.

First, I want the Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary to teach its students the nature of the Bible from the Bible itself. Christianity is a religion of revelation. God has disclosed Himself in a prophetic/apostolic word revelation. We live in that age where the Spirit has come, and the effective ministry of the Spirit coupled with the inerrant Word of God is the basis whereby men are birthed into the kingdom of God. It is also by Word and Spirit that men are qualified for ministry and develop those characteristics that are essential to minister the new covenant. It is by Word and Spirit that the gifts of the Spirit are given, which are the essential skills a man must possess in order to minister the truth of God in the church of God. It is by the Word and the Spirit that we gain the essential knowledge that is the primary content of what we have to say as we take the Word of God and present it to the church and the world. This aspect of our task is important.

We must pursue this knowledge with unsparing intellectual persistence. We must do so with full commitment to the self-authenticating speech of Christ. We dare not avoid the problems we face in the text, but seek to give our energies to their resolution. It is an exciting day in the world of Biblical scholarship. God has given us many conservative, well-gifted men from whom we are learning answers to the new issues we are now facing. We must continue that intellectual pursuit, but scholarship and careful study of that self-authenticating Word cannot simply end up in the jargon of theological nomenclature. They must become what they were for Jeremiah—the very words that God put in his mouth. Those were the words he would bear in God’s name to a people who were stiff-necked and rebellious. When, in the midst of his languish over their rebellion and their rejection, he contemplated whether it would be best that he no longer speak in that name, he found that having eaten those words, they burned in him like fire in his bones, and he could not restrain them. We must combine in the breast of each student theological expertise with the presence of the dynamic power of the Spirit of God and the Word of God so that as men develop in spiritual characteristics, in skills, and in knowledge, they still speak plainly, passionately, and convincingly to God’s people and to the world. May our commitment to the full authority of the Word of God transcend theological jargon and kindle the fire in our bones so that we are compelled to speak it and put it in the mouths of those who will eat it and share it.

Secondly, I want Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary to be a Baptist seminary. We share many crucial doctrines with believers in Christ from other traditions and gladly acknowledge this broad fellowship. Yet we are a Baptist seminary, rooted in our historical heritage, committed to Baptist distinctives, and approved by the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. Our theological perspective is not Catholic, Covenantal, or Arminian. It is dispensational. Respectfully, we will continue to say to others that we are dispensational Baptists because we believe this is the Biblical perspective. We dare not impoverish the next generation by neglecting the production of scholarly works in development of the defense of our position. In our teaching and writing, I want Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary to be built on the foundation of the full authority of Scripture and to clearly reflect and develop the theological tradition that constitutes its heritage.

No individual can make the difference in shaping the future. We are in this thing together—board, administration, faculty, staff, students, churches, and Christian community. This does not mean we are all best friends. It does mean we struggle together against a common enemy that would inhibit our growth in Christ; that we share the ministry of the new covenant; and that we share all the riches of God’s grace in Christ Jesus.

Faculty, students, Christian community! We must recognize the weakness of others, holding them up in their struggles, being sensitive to their needs when they hurt. We must aid them when they are overwhelmed, about to collapse, and need a friend—even though we are overworked with job, family, and academic load. It means being united in service and ministry.

As ministers of the new covenant—with its surpassing glory through which we are transformed into Christ’s image—we dare not wait until graduation to minister the grace of this covenant. There are sinners tonight traveling on the broad road to destruction. Some have never heard the good news of the gospel of grace. Others have heard but in their blindness and complacency do not sense their need for the good news. Our hope is the presence of the glory of Christ in our midst which will cause us to exalt the gospel of saving grace.

James Grier (ThD, Grace Theological Seminary) was distinguished professor of philosophical theology at Cornerstone University and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He gave this address on Jan. 14, 1983, on the occasion of his inauguration as dean of Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. Reprinted from the Baptist Bulletin (May 1983).

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Home » Products » Bulbs » Bulbs - Summer Flowering » Calla Lilies » CALLA LILY MANGO

Pack of 1

Calla Lily Mango (Zantedeschia hybrids) has delicious mango orange flowers that are held above spotted green and white foliage. Outstanding when grown in pots or in any sunny place in the yard.

These spectacular blooms are very long lasting making them excellent cut flowers. Also known as Zantedeschia, our beautiful bulbs should produce between 3 and 7 flowers in their first year. Becoming stronger and more vigorous once settled in plants will provide pups in a year or two. Best planted August – September in cool climates, once the risk of frost is over.

Supplied as a dormant bulb.

  • Suitable for areas with full sun
  • Ideal in pots or containers
  • Suitable to cut for vases
  • Plant 20cm apart
  • Grows to 30-75cm high
  • Summer
  • Ideal Growing Regions:
  • Cool
  • Temperate
  • Arid
  • Semi-arid
  • Mild Tropical
  • Tropical
  • View growing regions on the Climate Map

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Availability: OUT OF STOCK/OUT OF SEASON! Available to order from mid-August to November, unless sold out.

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At Garden Express you can make a purchase with confidence. Our living merchandise is normally guaranteed to grow if our free growing guide instructions are followed. Any guaranteed items that do not grow within 3 months (6 months for dormant items) will be replaced, credited to your account or fully refunded.

The exception to this guarantee is discounted, end of season stock which is sold on an ‘as is’ basis. Generally this stock is sound but should be planted as soon as possible and may not perform as well as normal in season products.

Delivery is normally via Australia Post with larger orders delivered via StarTrack Express* courier. We service virtually all areas of Australia with only those areas not serviced by these organisations being excluded (e.g. remote islands and Territories such as Christmas Island, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Cocos Islands, Groote Eylandt). We do not deliver outside Australia but happily deliver orders placed from overseas for Australian delivery. Our regular delivery charge for basic items is $9.90 Australia-wide, regardless of the number of items ordered. Due to their higher freight costs, bulky or heavy products such as roses, large pots and a small number of hard goods have higher delivery charges. The summary of all current delivery options is:

  • Orders NOT containing Roses, 120mm and larger pots/grow-bags, Bare-rooted Trees, Composting Buckets, nor any items with individually specified delivery charges, all delivered at one time, will incur the normal $9.90 freight charge. These items are referred to as “Basic Items”.
  • Orders containing bush Roses, 120mm up to 155mm pot/grow-bags, Composting Buckets, together with other products delivered at the same time will incur a $14.90 freight charge.
  • Orders containing Trixie Fruit Trees, Dwarf Fruit Trees, Lilac Trees, Standard and/or Patio Roses, 160mm up to a 200mm pot/grow-bags, together with other products delivered at the same time will incur a $22.00 freight charge.
  • Orders containing Bare-rooted Trees, Weeping Roses, Magnolias and other Larger items or pots/grow-bags greater than 200mm, together with other products delivered at the same time, will incur a $35.00 freight charge. Remote areas may incur an additional Freight charge but we will notify customers individually if this is the case.
  • Orders containing products with explicitly stated delivery charges will incur charges as detailed in the individual product description.
  • Some items may delayed due to climatic or growing habits prevent them from being harvested at the time of being offered for purchase.  You will be offered a choice to wait until all items on your order are available or to receive what is currently available for an additional freight charge of $4.00.

Orders containing products from two different seasons (eg Rose or spring bulb pre-orders) that require separate deliveries will incur two delivery charges at the relevant rates (unless a free freight offer applies). A $4.00 Quarantine Inspection Surcharge applies in addition to the Delivery Charge for orders delivered to Tasmania, Northern Territory and Western Australia due to the increased complexity of quarantine requirements.

As quarantine inspections apply to each delivery, 2 quarantine charges will apply where orders contain products from different seasons.   *Please note that if you order large items (eg Patio, Standard or Weeping Roses, Fruit Trees) you must specify a street address for the delivery address. StarTrack Express generally do not deliver to PO Boxes or RSD addresses so your order will be held until a suitable address is obtained. In rural areas StarTrack may deliver to physical addresses such as general stores that act as Australia Post agencies but we suggest you check with them first. Where ‘Free Delivery’ vouchers apply to an order, details of the voucher should be entered in the “Your message to us” field. Orders (except Pre-orders) are normally despatched within 7-14 working days from the time of ordering during busy periods. Delivery times may be extended during peak periods (typically following the release of the latest catalogue), extended public holidays, if extreme weather conditions are not suitable for live plant transport or as detailed in the product description.
Individual items may be back ordered to avoid delaying the delivery of other items. Please allow additional delivery time for orders to Tasmania, Northern Territory and Western Australia due to quarantine restrictions.

Please note: Some orders may not be possible to parts of Australia due to quarantine and some items may carry unique delivery charges. Check full delivery policy.

Common Name: CALLA LILY Also known as Zantedeschia
Botanical Name: Zanteschia hybrids Family Name: Araceae
Plant Type: Tuberous Perennial
Size: 30–70cm H x 15–20cm W
Planting Time: Late Winter to Spring
Positioning: Full Sun, Prefers Morning
Flowering: Late Spring (Warm Climates), Summer (Cool Climates)
Planting Width: 20cm  Depth: 10cm
General Information: Callas have wide range of climate tolerance, except extreme heat and cold. An attractive foliaged plant, they need 6 hrs of sun to flower-more shade results in more foliage but will decrease flowering.
Soil: A rich, moist soil, with plenty of organic matter added is required. Soil needs to be well drained as bulb will rot if kept too wet.
Watering: During summer they need to be kept moist; dryness will trigger dormancy.
Fertilising: Well-rotted animal manure, blood and bone or a complete fertiliser for flowering plants can be worked into the soil before planting. An annual application of fertiliser is necessary if plants are grown in pots. Nitrogen rich and fresh animal manure is not recommended.
Pruning: Bulbs can be left in the ground for several years. Plants will die down in winter and can be lifted and clumps divided if required. Likes deep watering, being left undisturbed, morning sun and hot afternoon shade. Dislikes
severe frost and waterlogged ground.
Ideal for patio pots, long-lasting cut flowers and is an excellent garden plant.
Tips: In cool climates do not plant until August. Often will not flower the first season after planting. Plant rough side up. If planting in pots: 1 bulb for 15cm pot. 3 bulbs for 30cm pot.

Establish which coloured region you live in and then consider the varieties listed as typically suited to that area. The Australian Climate Guide map is intended as a guide only as climatic conditions vary between specific locations. Factors such as local altitude, wind and the proximity of hills, mountains and bodies of water can cause variations from the generalised climate map. Note also that although a plant may be listed as suitable for a particular region, it may still require protection from extremes such as frost or strong winds. You should also consider its requirements for sun, shade and water.

Remember that you can often extend the range of plants that you can grow by creating micro-climates within your garden. Planting under trees, beside brick walls or in the shelter of a building, on high or low points in the garden can all have an effect. Even planting by a pond or surrounded by rocks can be used to advantage. Part of the joy of gardening can be experimenting and nothing is more pleasing that achieving success with a plant that is not usually seen in your area.

The map is based on Australian Bureau of Meteorology 30 year climatology data from 1961-1990. The zones are based on both temperature and humidity:

  • Tropical – hot humid summer .
  • Mild Tropical – warm humid summer
  • Semi-arid – hot dry summer, cold winter
  • Arid – hot dry summer, cold winter
  • Temperate – warm summer, cool winter
  • Cool – mild-warm summer, cool winter


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How to Water Winter Rye Grass in Arizona

By Shelly McRae ; Updated September 21, 2017

Rye grass grows well in the mild winter months in the lower desert of Arizona. Referred to as a winter lawn, rye grass flourishes in the cooler months and then dies back as the temperatures rise. Caring for your winter lawn, from fall to spring, requires watering your lawn properly to conserve water.

Seed your lawn in October, after the temperatures begin to fall. Rye grass seed is available as an annual and a perennial. The perennial rye grass will not re-emerge the following season; the high summer temperatures kill off the grass. Annual rye grass is less expensive, but the perennial is softer and germinates more quickly.

Water the newly seeded lawn with a light spray. If you have a sprinkler system in place, adjust the timer to water the lawn for 10 minutes twice a day. The pressure should be light. The first watering should be early in the morning, just after sunrise. The second watering should be late in the afternoon, but at least an hour before sunset.

Use a light spray with a hose if you do not have a sprinkler system. This is a less efficient way to water your lawn, as you risk over-watering some areas and under-watering other areas.

Adjust the watering schedule when the grass seed sprouts and the temperatures continue to decline. Water every three days in the morning for 20 minutes. This will prevent the grass from drying out.

Reduce the watering times to once a week when the rye grass is established. Reduce this again to once every two weeks after the first mowing, about six weeks after planting. Set the timer to water around 9 or 10 in the morning during the cooler months.

Reduce the amount of water directed toward shady areas by as much as 30 percent. Shaded areas do not dry out as quickly and so require less water.

Turn off the automated sprinkler system during rainy days. If possible, switch over to manual. In the winter months, Arizona may experience days of heavy rainfall. You need not water your winter lawn for as many as two to three weeks after one day of heavy rainfall.

Stop watering your winter lawn in mid-April, when the temperatures begin to rise. This will allow the rye grass to die out. When the rye grass turns brown, water once a week for 10 minutes to encourage the dormant Bermuda grass to emerge for your summer lawn.

Things You Will Need

  • Rye grass seed
  • Watering system

  • Do not use flood irrigation for your rye grass lawn. This may result in fungus as well as waterlogged roots.

About the Author

Shelly McRae is a freelance writer residing in Phoenix, Ariz. Having earned an associate degree from Glendale Community College with a major in graphic design and technical writing, she turned to online writing. McRae has written articles for multiple websites, drawing on her experience in the home improvement industry and hydroponic gardening.


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Gardening Know How -

Spring Snow Crabapple Care: How To Grow A Spring Snow Crabapple Tree

‘Spring Snow’ gets its name from the fragrant white blossoms that cover the small crabapple tree in spring. They contrast brilliantly with the bright green of the foliage. If you are looking for a fruitless crabapple, you might want to think about growing ‘Spring Snow’ crabapples. Read on for tips on how to grow a ‘Spring Snow’ crabapple (Malus ‘Spring Snow’) and other information.

Spring Snow Crabapple Information

Is a crabapple tree that doesn’t produce crabapples still a crabapple tree [1]? It is, and anyone growing ‘Spring Snow’ crabapples appreciate the fruitless trees.

Many gardeners do not grow crabapple trees for the fruit. Unlike crisp, delicious apple [2] or pears [3], crabapples are not popular as off-the-tree snacks. The fruit is sometimes used for jams, but less these days than yesteryear.

And ‘Spring Snow’ crabapple trees offer the ornamental benefits of crabapples trees [4]. The plant grows as an upright tree to 20 feet (6 m.) tall and 25 feet (7.6 m.) wide. The branches form an attractive, rounded canopy that is symmetrical and provides some summer shade. The tree is covered by bright green, oval leaves that turn yellow in autumn before falling.

The most attractive feature of ‘Spring Snow’ crabapple trees are the flowers. They appear in spring, very white and very showy – just like snow. The blossoms offer a sweet fragrance as well.

‘Spring Snow’ Crabapple Care

If you are wondering how to grow a ‘Spring Snow’ crabapple tree, you’ll find they grow best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8a. The tree grows best in full sunshine, although ‘Spring Snow’ crabapple trees accept most types of well-draining soil.

You won’t have to worry about the roots of these crabapple trees. They rarely, if ever, cause issues by pushing up sidewalks or foundations. On the other hand, you may have to prune out the lower branches [5]. This will be an important part of its care if you need access below the tree.

Crabapple trees grow well in compacted soil in urban areas. They tolerate drought quite well and even wet soil from time to time. The trees are somewhat tolerate of salt spray too.

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Home > Fly Fishing > Nets > Wychwood Nets

Wychwood Bankman Nets - SAVE £5!

RRP: £54.99
Our Price: £49.99
Product Description

The Wychwood Bankman Net is perfect for any bank or wading angler thanks to the extendable aluminium handle. The adjust and lock handle is rock solid, couple this with the aluminum ground spike, which allows the net to double-up as a super effective line tray, perfect for any bank or wading fishing situation. The net frame features a self-adjusting, angled spreader block, so that the net can be set at any defined angle to suit your fishing situation, gathering line with ease and saving those frustrating tangles.

  • Doubles as a superb line tray that can be adjusted to any angle
  • Slimline aluminum handle
  • Self adjustable handle from 1.3m to 2.4m
  • Full rubber net mesh
  • Non Fish Scaring matt finish net frame
  • Full rubber mesh prevents hooks snagging
  • Limits spread of diseases
  • easy-grip EVA hand grip
  • Superb netting at distance and with long leaders
  • International rules fly gauge


text:
A body scrutinising hundreds of millions of pounds of spending has been unable to vote on anything because not enough councillors have turned up.

For the fourth time in less than 12 months, the latest Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) overview and scrutiny committee failed to be quorate.

The devolved authority, which is led by Conservative mayor Ben Houchen, has a £588.2m investment plan lined up until 2029.

It was a familiar tale last Thursday as no decision could be legally ratified by the panel which keeps an eye on this spending.

Frustrated chairwoman Cllr Norma Stephenson recalled how her report on diversity at councils in the Tees Valley had hit the buffers due to the problem.

She added: “This is also the only committee in the Tees Valley which can’t have substitutes.

“Even the cabinet can have substitutes.

“I don’t know who sat down and wrote the paper because we elect chairs and vice-chairs - and the borough councils select councillors to come on here - but the cabinet can overrule it.

“It’s not the combined authority’s fault - it’s the statute.

“It does make you wonder because we’ve had quite a few (meetings) like this.”

Regulations mean at least one councillor from at least four of the five local authorities in the Tees Valley - Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland, Darlington and Hartlepool - need to turn up for the panel to be able to vote on anything.

The panel also needs at least 10 out of 15 members to attend.

Efforts to try and change these rules in the TVCA’s constitution have failed thus far.

Former Darlington Council leader Stephen Harker believed the rules were a “high bar” to meet.

Video-conferencing and more flexible meeting times have been suggested to try and boost attendance levels at meetings.

Councillors have branded levels of attendance "verging on farcical" at the panel in the past.

After the meeting, Mr Houchen had little sympathy for the committee - claiming leaders of local councils had agreed and set up the rules when the combined authority was formed.

He added: “If local authorities want control, you have to turn up.

“They are councillors and turning up to meetings is what they are supposed to do.”


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Are Boro dropping precious Premiership points by failing to defend at corners?

Jose Mourinho seems to think so. John Terry pointed to the flaw in Boro's make-up when he was interviewed on Match of the Day after the game.

The Chelsea skipper powered home a bullet header unchallenged from a corner at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to seal a 1-0 win for the champions and spoil an otherwise creditable Boro display.

When asked about his goal, Terry said Chelsea had expected to threaten with headers from set pieces as the club's scouts "had identified it as a Middlesbrough weakness".

Chelsea draw up comprehensive tactical dossiers on all their upcoming opposition. Given the one leaked widely onto the Internet about Newcastle last month they seem very detailed, pertinent and, by all accounts, play a key part in The Special One's exacting pre-match preparations.

Chelsea identified aerial weaknesses at set pieces and ruthlessly exploited them.

For the goal, there were men on both posts and the entire midfield were in the box and marking up but looking at their man rather than the ball. So when the ball came in they did not react immediately to it but to their man's movement and so lost a vital fraction of a second and half-a-yard, so when the Chelsea players ran in towards the flight of the ball they were trailing. Then suddenly gaps opened for deep-lying and unmarked Terry to get into a position that hurt.

It was text-book stuff on Chelsea's part, but sloppy on Boro's part not to answer with text-book defending.

Given the big defender's prolific record from flag-kicks, it seems strange that no-one was earmarked to stay tight with him in an attempt to block any run. Give him the chance to burst forward, then when he jumps he can get extra height and extra power. Such runs must be stopped.

Furthermore, it appeared that Boro players were marking space rather than men. The zonal approach meant when they did line up at corners and pick up a man it was not necessarily the same pre-determined man each time, rather an ad hoc system of marking the nearest.

Plus, by dropping almost the whole team back into the box to defend, it allows the opposition defence to move up as there are no forwards to mark on the halfway line ready for a quick ball out, thus inviting pressure straight back on when it is cleared.

Everyone dropping back also makes the box very crowded, penning the keeper on his line and making it harder for him to charge out and collect using his height advantage.

It was not only Terry's goal that caused problems. There were a string of threatening corners and free-kicks put into the air in front of goal that caused heart-stopping moments before being cleared.

Gallas went very close with a close range header from a Duff corner on the half-hour after being given a free run at the ball but Rochembach was well placed to hack clear.

It was the Brazilian closest to hand with the second-half goal too, but that time he was not so nimble and could not block.

Clearly Chelsea had done their homework and made their few set pieces count.

And it is not just Chelsea who have taken advantage of this worrying weakness, which has been highlighted before on the programme by Alan Hansen and his magic pen.

Generous Boro have leaked costly goals to headers from corners in four of the last five Premiership games. That is a deeply worrying statistic.

The flag-kick wobble started against Manchester United. It would be churlish to knock the team after the stirring 4-1 demolition of the big boys and the goal did not cost points.

But the clean sheet bonuses went out the window at the death as Ronaldo was left clear as he rose to bang home a free header and claim a consolation goal as the defence clocked off early.

The following game it did cost points, though, when Boro went down 1-0 at Everton.

As a van der Meyde corner was cleared, the Dutchman fired it straight back and James Beattie climbed highest to head home without challenge.

And in the next match, too, Boro conceded from a corner as Papa Bouba Diop out-jumped Franck Queudrue to bullet home a header after a corner from Collins John.

Ultimately that did not prove Boro's undoing but it did make things very difficult. It let Fulham back into the game but also sparked a furious fightback and a famous 3-2 win, albeit thanks to a fortuitous offside leveller.

Boss Steve McClaren rightly pointed out afterwards the difficulties of winning games when you concede sloppy goals. You should not need to score two or three to get something out of a game that you are dominating.

Against West Brom Boro did not leak at corners - the frailties were elsewhere - but the problem resurfaced at Chelsea and what would have been an eye-catching result and a useful bonus point was allowed to slip away.

Boro are losing 4-1 overall this season on corners. Against the four leaked in the past five games, Boro have a solitary Franck Queudrue effort from a Rochembach flag-kick in the credit column. On another day that may have been a leveller - it was the game where West Ham were given a goal that had not crossed the line - but in the end it counted for nothing.

One goal sounds a very low return because Boro have a healthy corner count.

In their 15 league games so far this season Boro have won 78 corners (according to Gazette figures, which are as official as they come) and scored one. Donning my anorak, I reckon that gives a conversion rate of 1.28pc.

But they have conceded four goals from the 62 corners they have had to face, a conversion rate of 6.45pc.

That sounds like a significant imbalance that could have damaging repercussions on the figures that really count.

The only statistics I could find for corners over a whole season was a study of the American MLS last year that suggested an average of 2.12pc led to goals.

Given that so many teams now try to stifle the opposition and hope to snatch goals from set plays, it is important to rectify the problem quickly.

Of course there is a physical dimension that Boro can do little about. In a Premiership dominated by cloud-scraping slam-dunking giants, Boro are a relatively small side.

The first choice central defensive pairing of Southgate and Riggott are both six foot but still concede vital inches to the likes of Diop and Terry who they must deal with.

To counter that Boro need to be sharper, stick closer to men and be physically stronger in the challenge and they must attack the ball early.

To leak four goals in five games is worrying and to lose two matches as a result hits Boro where it really hurts.

That is either a strange statistical quirk or a problem that must be urgently addressed - especially with Liverpool's million-pound-per-foot cow and banjo merchant having rediscovered the goal just before Boro's visit to Anfield.


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Easthampton City Council takes step toward municipal broadband service

  • —Michal Jarmoluk/via Pixabay

Staff Writer
Published: 8/10/2019 5:42:39 PM

EASTHAMPTON — The City Council has voted for the second time to give Easthampton the authority to establish a municipal light plant, or MLP, enabling the town to put the question of creating a town-owned utility to voters through a ballot question. Under state law, the City Council must approve creating an MLP in two separate fiscal years with a two-thirds majority before putting the question to voters.

The vote, which was taken at the council’s Wednesday meeting, was 7-0. City Council President Joseph McCoy and City Council Vice President Salem Derby were not present.

Municipal light plants are town departments created to furnish electric power and/or energy-related services such as high-speed internet to residents and businesses; more than 40 have been established by cities and towns in Massachusetts.

At the meeting, City Councilor Thomas Peake, who initially introduced the legislation, noted that Greenfield and Westfield are currently rolling out their municipal internet, and that having a municipal light plant would allow Easthampton to follow suit if it so chooses.

“For us to put fiber on the poles, we need to establish an MLP,” Peake said Friday.

Asked if the municipal light plant could expand into providing power, Peake said, “I don’t think anything is off the table.”

“These entities can do some cool stuff,” he said.

Peake has said, however, that Easthampton is only exploring internet services at the moment.

Language for a ballot question, which could be voted on Nov. 5 in this year’s municipal elections, was sent to the council’s Rules and Government Relations Subcommittee, and the council may vote to put language on the ballot at its Sept. 18 meeting.

Should it pass, the city will have the authority to establish a municipal light plant, although it will not be obligated to do so.

Peake said the mayor would make the ultimate call on whether to establish a municipal light plant and that operational funding would have to be approved by the council. He also said that how it will be financed is a big question.

“It’ll take a while to figure out the right way to go forward,” he said.

Although he doesn’t think there’s an appetite for raising taxes in Easthampton to pay for municipal broadband, Peake said bonding for it was possible.

“We’re just allowing this conversation to really start in earnest,” he said.

Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.

Daily Hampshire Gazette Office

115 Conz Street
Northampton, MA 01061

Copyright © 2019 by H.S. Gere & Sons, Inc.
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Our blog

GlobalCom’s Blog lists articles, insights and thought leadership pieces written by Public Relations specialists spanning all continents, in several languages.

Selected topics: Content Marketing | Lists and Checklists | Meta | Tips & Tricks

Jaja klar, mittlerweile wissen wir alle was „dieses IoT“ ist, oder? So von wegen smarter Kühlschrank, der einkauft: Oder: Ein Fitnesstracker, der mir sagt, dass ich heute wieder zu faul war. Nicht zu vergessen natürlich Unmengen an Anwendungen in der Industrie. Und nicht zuletzt Autos, Maschinen und Roboter, die an der Lebensader Internet hängen. Ihr wisst schon, von was ich spreche.

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Digital campaigns play a pivotal role in the election campaigns of the Western world, be they on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Around the world, the digital election campaigns add up to the traditional media channels, such as TV, radio and the printed press. In Israel, however, the conventional media is nearly completely void of political advertising due to the Election Campaign Law, which prohibits sponsored TV or radio campaign and limits the exposure on the printed press. The election campaigns, therefore, focus on classic public relations, leaving the main battles to debates, interviews, and other tactics on TV channels and radio shows dealing with current events.

Read more

GlobalCom welcomes The Fourth Angel to the family

The GlobalCom PR Network was on the lookout for a B2C agency in the UK for quite some time. Just at the right moment, our prayers were answered.

We are excited to welcome our new member from the UK to the GlobalCom PR Network family: “The Fourth Angel

The Fourth Angel offers a lateral approach to integrated comms for brands that crave smarter and better.
They are agnostic in their approach. They aim to be the “ministers of truth”: to solve your business and communication objectives with authentic, meaningful, swift, savvy and salient brand-centric campaigns. That deliver. No bull. Just bottom-lining, honest brilliance.

“We’re a host of experienced pros from manifold PR and marcomms backgrounds. Our motivation is simple and pure: do the best work for and with the best people and brands. We bring together a team with the right experience for the work, from a mix of PR, digital, media brand and event specialists. We have a little black book full of media and influencer contacts and pride ourselves on our creative and strategic thinking and our ability to leave no stone unturned to deliver the best in class service for our clients.”

They specialize in a wide variety of industries and expertise: Consumer PR, B2B PR, Technology PR, Personal Finance PR, Parenting PR, Food & Drink PR, Entertainment PR, Travel PR, Health & Beauty PR, Fashion PR, Social Media Management, Video, Design, Crisis Communications, Experiential, Events, Influencers, Brand Partnerships, Sponsorship, Media Buying.

“Our clients range from international companies and brands to start-up businesses. Some of our clients include LG Signature, Joules, Green Man Gaming, My Expert Midwife, Prezzo, Hawk Incentives, Visit Houston, AMC and Gather App. We are a fresh young agency, but are the brainchild of Angie Moxham, the founder of 3 Monkeys, which she sold to Edelman a few years ago. We have experience working with Microsoft, Disney, Monster Jobs, Gumtree, Royal Mail, Miele, Sharp Electronics, Coca-Cola and Novartis to name just a few. Our experience spans technology, food & drink, retail, fashion, entertainment, health & beauty, personal finance, youth and parenting sectors.”

We are looking forward to a mutually beneficial partnership. Welcome to the family The Fourth Angel UK

GlobalCom new member Allmedia4U Czech Republic

The GlobalCom PR Network is happy to introduce our newest member to the family. We warmly welcome Allmedia4U from the Czech Republic.

Allmedia4U is the main pillar of a group of specialized pr agencies, who have merged to provide a 360-degree range of marketing communications.

With highly experienced experts in top management positions and a strong middle management Allmedia4U delivers high-level services in a wide range of industries, with the main focus on: healthcare, medical, pharmacy in B2B and B2C, technology in B2B and B2C, lifestyle, health & beauty, fashion, home and construction, FMCG and food in B2C.

A few current client examples are: Akzo Nobel Coating, BMW Motorrad, Candy Hoover, Certicon, Daikin, Equa bank, GLS, Honor, Radalytica, Sanofi Aventis, Sanofi Pasteur, Staropramen brewery and many others. In the past their experienced consultants worked for Disney, IBM, Converse, Telefonica, Jack Daniels, Samsung, Whirlpool, etc.

Besides PR services they are specialized in social media content creation, performance marketing, creative communication projects, marketing strategy and media buying.

As a remarkably competent social media expert, Allmedia4U is managing an impressive average of 50 social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Additionally, they are also taking care of performance and PPC campaigns.

Other services include brand strategies, market researches, networking and public affairs.

The GlobalCom PR Network is thrilled to have Allmedia4U on board. We look forward to a long and fruitful business cooperation.

Product recalls, scandals involving members of management, revelations about employee maltreatment – that’s the stuff of PR executives’ nightmares. The newly published ‘PR Trend Monitor’ by dpa subsidiary News Aktuell asked more than 500 PR Professionals which of the causes for a communication crisis they fear most and what should be avoided in handling a PR crisis.

According to the survey results, nearly two-thirds of PR professionals believe that trying to hide mistakes will most likely backfire. One in three respondents particularly fears crises due to the failure or a personal misconduct of the executives. Prosecutorial investigations are among the top crisis topics for one in four PR experts (26 percent), followed by social media shitstorms (24 percent).
Every fifth communications professional (22 percent each) fears the negative effects of defective products or false reports. Communication crises triggered by poor service and poor working conditions also cause concern among the respondents and occupy the last places of the crises Top 10.

Top 10 PR crisis triggers

1. Trying to conceal mistakes (63%)
2. Failures of top management (30%)
3. Personal misconduct of top management (29%)
4. Prosecutorial investigations (26%)
5. Social media shitstorm (24%)
6. Defective products (22%)
7. False reports (22%)
8. Compliance issues (19%)
9. Poor service (12%)
10. Poor working conditions (11%)

Not all crises can be avoided. Whether faced with a management mistake or an unexpected product failure –  the triggers for potential crisis situations often hit public relations teams without prior warning. Therefore it is all the more important for companies to agree on a general strategy for dealing with crises in regards to the communication. In case of an emergency, PR teams can then react much faster and more effectively, instead of having to tackle the entire coordination and approval process for crisis communication.

Wibke Sonderkamp

This post was first published by Melissa Drozdowski at the Interprose Voice blog.

“Influencer marketing” has a certain cachet these days; it’s the buzziest buzzword that ever buzzed. Everyone wants in on it. Brands want to know how to put it to use, while wannabe influencers want to capitalize on its popularity. But, what is it? And why does it matter? And how come it seems like it’s suddenly on the tip of everyone’s tongue?

The Cult of Personality

Influencer marketing is about tapping into the power of people – influencers, specifically – rather than relying on traditional marketing campaigns. Social media influencers are those who can affect the behavior and buying decisions of others. When you hear the term “influencer”, someone with the last name Kardashian likely springs to mind. And why wouldn’t it? Kim K. (who, by the way, charges between $300K and $500K for a single Instagram post) has built a whole empire on the premise of being the Queen of the Influencers.

Why are influencers so important? Because we like being reassured about our buying choices. We want influencers to tell us that whatever it is we’re spending our money on is worth it. It’s precisely for that reason that consumers want to know what products their favorite influencer is buying, eating, wearing, and using on a daily basis. This means they can have a powerful impact on the perceived desirability and value of a product or service, which in turn, can make or break your bottom line.

While influencer marketing clearly has a role in the B2C space, what about B2B? Getting an endorsement from a celebrity influencer, even if they are using your latest agile cloud-based, IoT-enabled big data widget, isn’t going to carry much weight with B2B decision-makers. The business crowd wants to hear the opinions of experts, respected practitioners, thought leaders, and content creators rather than someone who’s merely assembled a ginormous Instagram following (sorry, Kim). What’s really important is authenticity and transparency. Business buyers are looking to hear about the real-world experiences of someone who’s actually used your product or service.

Enter the micro-influencer.

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Летний деловой сезон открыла ежегодная встреча руководителей и специалистов PR-агентств, которые входят в международную ассоциацию GlobalCom PR Network www.gcpr.net  Масштабная конференция состоялась на греческом острове Крит и собрала более 50 профессионалов в сфере связей с общественностью из 30 стран мира. Это больше, чем годом ранее в Стамбуле, когда на встречу приехали 45 специалистов из 29 стран.

Ральф Хартманн, глава ассоциации GlobalComPR Network

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Successfully Launching a Blog

This post was first published by Laurie Davis at the Interprose Voice blog.

As the unofficial “cruise director” for my family, I’ve planned everything from birthday parties to Disney World vacations – and yes, it involves a spreadsheet. How else are you going to coordinate our nearly 20-person clan? Needless to say I would classify myself as a planner. A good plan provides clarity, direction and alleviates a lot of stress and unknowns. Creating a plan is a great way to start any project – especially when you are thinking about launching a blog or refreshing an existing one.

You’ve heard about the benefits of starting a corporate blog – it can boost your organization’s search engine ranking (SEO), provide a platform to share your messages, establish your executives, partners and employees as industry leaders, support your social media initiatives, and so much more. While this all sounds great, it begs the question: Where do you begin?

Here are four building blocks to help you successfully architect and launch a blog.

Determine Your Goals

What are your goals for the blog? Before thinking about the what —the tactics and mechanics behind your blog—you really need to establish the why. These goals will help shape all your decisions moving forward—it is your foundation. Don’t rush this step; set aside some time to get them outlined upfront.

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GlobalCom PR Network partner PRecious Communications turns seven

Lars Voedisch (centre), surrounded by PRecious employees, celebrating seven PRecious years with a groovy 70s themed party

No signs of the seven year itch from this boutique-turned- integrated communications agency

SINGAPORE, 7 AUGUST 2019 – PRecious Communications, a multi-award winning integrated communications agency, celebrated its seventh anniversary alongside #FriendsofPRecious who have been supporting the company through the years, including alumni, friends, as well as clients both past and present.

From humble beginnings in 2012, the agency was just a one-person show with no formal office. In just seven short years, PRecious Communications has since grown into an integrated communications agency that employees 50 people, spread across its offices in Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

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Public relations and marketing communications strategy in 2018 were defined by the demand for content and integrated communications. The conversations during the beginning of 2019 were around the rise of artificial intelligence in communications and the lack of public trust in the media due to fake news. The midway point of the year represents an opportunity for business leaders and public relations professionals to re-evaluate their communications strategy by understanding the key trends that have defined the field in the early part of 2019.

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Without an efficient network, your traffic lags, your messages aren’t sent in a timely manner, and basically your whole office slows to a crawl. How well your computers and devices communicate with each other and the outside world makes a huge difference in how productive your office can be.

Many companies add a server to their office to save money and for the ability to host their own applications, but if it’s not being managed efficiently, it can end up costing you more and urgent server issues can take time away from focusing on your business.

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Network downtime can cost companies thousands of dollars per minute in lost productivity and sales opportunities. Keeping your network and server up and running are a given when you work with GEEK911. Our team gives a 99.9% SLA – server and network uptime guaranteed.

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Looking for the best network support you can find in the San Jose area? We’re right here and ready to discuss your network and server needs.

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POD: March Break Home Work

Today Jacob brought home 4 books, two are from school part of the snuggle up and read program. 2 are from the Library, it seems my mom took the kids to the local library after school and took out a couple of books for him.  I’m thinking we’ll treat the Library books just like his school books. That is after reading them he can write out the title, draw a picture and write a sentence about it. It’s something that both Jacob and Melissa enjoy doing together, so why not do more of it.

  • MRJ

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Life-Size Animated Character

Sheepdog with Sound Effects

This life-size animated Sheepdog makes an impressive addition to your holiday decor. Programmed with 10 spoken expressions and three holiday songs, our animated Christmas Sheepdog makes a unique and notable statement. Perfect for dog lovers and decorating enthusiasts alike, this life-size animated Sheepdog is finished with a Santa hat and coordinating striped scarf.

• Speaks 10 dog-friendly holiday messages
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Item #: 116581

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Geotechnical Engineering

Not your average geotechnical firm.

GeoDesign’s experts provide specialized services in addition to the standard range of geotechnical offerings.

Our specialized services include:

  • Performance-based Design (PBD): PBD is the seismic design methodology of the future. It allows the design team to work together to determine the appropriate levels of ground motion and performance objectives for the building and the nonstructural components in order to meet the owner’s expectations.
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Northfork Landslide: Before Northfork Landslide: After

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Georgie Minter-Brown

Official blog of actress Georgina Minter-Brown covering travel, beauty, fashion and lifestyle.

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Friday, 24 July 2015

NEW VIDEO: Love Tanya Book Review

Here's my book review on Tanya Burr's book; Love Tanya! If you want to buy the book you can buy it here.

Don't forget to follow me on all my social media accounts for news on new posts and videos:

Have any of you read Love Tanya? What do you think?

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GSA Joint Section Meeting

Rocky Mountain (70th Annual Meeting)
Cordilleran (114th Annual Meeting)

15–17 May | Flagstaff, Arizona
Double Tree by Hilton Hotel and Conference Center

Reservation Deadline: 13 April

Exhibits will take place near the oral and poster sessions at the DoubleTree by Hilton. Please direct questions related to Exhibits to the Exhibits Chair: Steve Reynolds.

Mon., 14 May 3 p.m. set up, open 5-7 p.m.
 Tue., 15 May  open 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Wed., 16 May  open 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Thur., 17 May  open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., tear down 5-6 p.m.
Exhibit Rates
For Profit Exhibit Booth $300
Non-Profit Exhibit Booth/academic $150

Monday, 14 May

  • Opening Reception.
    5–7 p.m., Grand Ballroom, DoubleTree by Hilton.
    Food and cash bar will be provided. Each participant will receive a coupon for one free beer or wine in their registration packet.

Wednesday, 16 May

  • GSA Cordilleran Section Business Meeting.
    4:30–5:30 p.m. Deluxe Suite 355.
  • Banquet: Celebrating the Careers of the Symposia Honorees.
    7:30–10 p.m. Grand Ballroom. Ticket Purchase Required, $35.
  • GSA Rocky Mountain Section Business Meeting.
    7–8 a.m., Deluxe Suite 355.

Thursday, 17 May

  • GSA Strategic Planning Meeting.
    7–8 a.m., Kachina Room.
    GSA leadership is asking for your input on Strategic Planning. Please come by to share your insights with GSA President Isabel Montanez and GSA Executive Director Vicki McConnell.
RISE logo

20 February
Abstracts Submission

9 April
Early Registration

26 April


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SET’s Starter Guide to Cryptocurrency

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Last year we saw the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin raise to almost $20,000 per coin in value, 20 times more than its original value of $1,000 at the beginning of 2017. Not only did this increase awareness in the mass media, but it also made a lot of online investors incredibly wealthy, especially those who invested when the cryptocurrency was only $22 per coin in 2013.

This type of money making might seem out of the average person’s league, but, in actuality, anyone can invest — from a college student with a hefty tax return to anyone with a spare hundred dollars. Here are a few tips, facts and cautions to know before plunging into the cryptocurrency world.

Bitcoin is Not Evil

Let’s go ahead and get a couple silly rumors out of the way. Many people may have heard about the “Dark Web,” a macabre part of the internet where usually criminals thrive and utilize cryptocurrency, more often Bitcoin. The “Dark Web” may or may not still exist, no one can be sure without finding out for themselves, but that also involves illegal activity which the average person usually doesn’t have time for. Because of Bitcoin’s reputation with this dark side of the internet, many people are cautious or completely turned off by the idea of investing in cryptocurrency, believing it to be illegal or used in illegal activities.

Although the perception of Bitcoin is twisted by this relation, there is no wrongdoing occuring as long as you’re not on the “Dark Web” itself.

“While it can be used on the ‘Dark Web,’ it is not a direct link,” University of North Alabama’s Student Web Developer Quint Glover said. “It would be similar to using physical currency to buy illegal paraphernalia. Bitcoin is not inherently evil.”

You Do Not Have to Be Tech-Savvy to Invest in Cryptocurrency

Another misconception with the online trade is being barred from getting involved because of lack of technological prowess. The process for “mining” or acquiring Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies involve coding, utilizing spare computer parts and complicated mathematics, all things either too complicated or tedious to do for the average person. This route in investing may be far from parsimonious but the outcome does produce free cryptocurrency.

“You’re basically trading computer power for cash,” Glover said.

Mining is not the only way for people to become involved with cryptocurrency. The average person can invest physical money by converting it online, using a proof of stake model which a standard computer can handle. This model allows for investors to put forth tangible monetary value into whatever cryptocurrency they desire, just like buying stocks in the stock market. The following are a few popular exchange sites for beginners:,,,,

Bitcoin is Not Your Only Option

Bitcoin may be the most popular in the news right now, but it is not the only cryptocurrency to choose from. Other cryptocurrencies include Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Dash, Ripple and Monero.

Not only are people able to invest in these other cryptocurrencies, but investors can also convert cryptocurrencies they already have to other cryptocurrencies (e.g., bitcoin to litecoin). Utilizing sites such as, or, investors can convert “coins,” just as someone would convert dollars to yen. Depending on the market, knowing this option could possibly save future investors from losing a significant amount of their money.

Understand and Pay Attention to the Market

Dealing with cryptocurrency is similar to the stock market. Paying attention to the rise and fall of values is important in the venture and the key to not losing ALL of the invested money. The same risks of investing in a business that is failing in the stock market is indistinguishable to investing in cryptocurrency that falls in value.

“It’s much faster paced, depending on the money you can put in you gain or lose a couple thousand dollars in a couple of hours,” said Mitchel Moon, Associate Director for Digital Communications in UNA’s University Communications and Marketing.

Unlike the stock market, cryptocurrency has no government involvement, meaning the people participating are the ones gaining and losing. There is no central authority over the currency while at the same time there is no insurance for the money invested. Cryptocurrency is run by the people for the people, so no matter what cryptocurrency a person invests in, the risk of losing money will always be a possibility.

“There is no guarantee you’ll make any money and no guarantee the government might take over,” Moon said.

Whether it be poor managing or government intervention, the risk is there, thus knowing the market and consistently checking the value of investments and keeping up with the news is important to protecting your assets.

Where to Get Started?

There are a few sites a person can utilize, such as Bitfinex, Poloinex and Bittrex, but since this is directed for beginners, let’s suggest Coinbase. Some sites only deal in a couple of cryptocurrencies, while sites such as Coinbase and Poloinex allow for multiple currencies which gives the investor more options for buying and trading.

The first action is setting up a digital wallet. This will be where funds will be sent and converted for cryptocurrency. Specific wallets are used for specific currency, meaning a wallet cannot hold more than one cryptocurrency. If a person decides to dabble in more than one cryptocurrency, they will need more wallets (one for each type) or they will not be able to trade properly and possibly lose money invested.

After creating your wallet(s) and setting up your investments, the next action should be to manage your portfolio. Fortunately, the average person does not need to become a master in Excel spreadsheets. There are multiple applications that can be downloaded on your phone such as Blockfolio and Delta. Creating a portfolio will help organize and keep track of every investment.

Once the person is all set up and organized, an important precaution would be setting up security. Do not use a simple password — this is money after all and no one needs someone hacking and taking all of their money. Setting up two- to three-way verifications is also recommended. It is better to have to use other accounts, emails, phone numbers, etc., and take time rather than having a flimsy password to guard your finances.

Now that we’ve gotten to the end, there is just one more important piece of advice. Research everything! Yes, this article may have directed you to the proper path, but it is still not a bad idea to research which site is more accommodating to your needs or which currency is more affordable for you at the moment.

Even after you find those answers, it is important to keep up with news and trends and be aware of what you have invested in. The market is always changing and being attentive to those changes could be either your greatest payday or worst mistake.