Targeting advertising used to be pretty simple–all you had to do was buy ads in the places that your target market frequented. Whether it was a billboard, commercial, or print ad, your first concern was where the ad would be placed. While the basic principles of advertising haven’t changed, the way that we target ads has. There are now far better ways to reach someone than to assume that they’re part of some large group. Today’s advertisers have access to massive amounts of data, but they need to know what to do with it. It may seem like overkill, but there are actually NASA and MIT scientists working on this stuff. Some of them are DataXu, a Boston, MA based company whose “platform enables [their] clients to manage and optimize marketing investments across all digital channels, realizing significant performance and cost benefits.” DataXu came in at #5 on the Inc. 5000 with 21,337% three-year growth to $87 million in revenue.
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Illinois,
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Massachusetts
This is my favorite part of the year when it comes to One Day One Job because all of those annoying kids finally go back to school. Just kidding. I actually love late August for a completely different reason: the Inc. 5000 is released. In case you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a ranking of the 5,000 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States. The metric that they use is three-year revenue growth, and that makes the list an amazing tool for finding up and coming companies with great career opportunities. This year Fuhu came in at #1 on the list with 42,148% three-year growth to $117.9 million in revenue. The El Segundo, CA based company that aims to be “the leading designer, seller and innovator of ‘thoughtful’ consumer products and services for children.” When you make stuff that kids like, parents empty their pockets.
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animation,
business development,
California,
Colorado,
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education,
Internships,
merchandising,
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retail,
software development,
technical support,
toys,
web development
From the beginning One Day One Job has been built on top of WordPress. To many it’s simple blogging software, but it’s amazing how far you can take it with a little bit of tweaking. The problem with self-hosted WordPress (as opposed to WordPress.com) is that it requires running your own server. You can find a host that makes it easy to get started, but as soon as your site starts to grow, you’ll run into problem after problem. I used to spend at least a week’s worth of workdays every year worrying about server stuff (downtime, optimization, security, and all kinds of other details). That all changed when I moved my sites to WP Engine. They are an Austin, TX based company that “host tens of thousands of the 75 million WordPress sites and apps on Earth.” I’ve had almost zero downtime since I switched, but more importantly, I no longer worry about my server configuration (and I’m even paying less than I used to for hosting).
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finance,
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paid,
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systems administration,
technical support,
Texas
I’m fascinated by Japan. I’ve never been there, but my wife and I are planning a trip there for our honeymoon. There’s an intensity to the culture that I absolutely love, but there are also some things I just don’t get. Pepsi flavored Cheetos is one, and anime is another. In case you didn’t know, anime is the Japanese word for animation. But here in the U.S. it’s typically used to describe “a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastic themes” (at least that’s what Wikipedia says). While anime isn’t for me, A LOT of people love it–and most of them are adults. Crunchyroll is a San Francisco, CA and Tokyo, Japan based company that caters to this audience by offering “the leading global video service for Japanese Anime and Asian media.”
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animation,
bilingual,
brand management,
customer service,
design,
events,
international,
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Japan,
marketing,
media,
mobile,
software development,
translation,
user experience,
web development
I didn’t start cooking until my sophomore year of college, but I picked it up pretty quickly once I was off of a meal plan. If I was trying something new, I’d look up a basic recipe, but for the most part I just learned a few basic concepts and used those to come up with my own preparations. This made trips to the grocery store fun. I’d invent a meal based on what I saw at the store, and then try to make it at home. I’ve been doing that ever since, and I love it, but some people don’t want to spend the time shopping and creating meals even though they still would like to cook dinner at home. HelloFresh is for them. It’s a New York, NY based company (actually it’s Berlin, Germany, but the U.S. business is based in NYC) that offers weekly subscription packages that include recipes and all of the ingredients to make healthy, delicious meals. It’s kind of like those brownie mixes that come in a box (all you have to do is follow the instructions), except the end result is a dinner that your mother would approve of.
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culinary,
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food,
Germany,
grocery,
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People are completely irrational when it comes to travel deals. Sometimes it means wasting an entire day of a five day trip in some random airport (in the opposite direction of where you’re headed) to save a hundred bucks. Other times it means spending hours looking for the best fare only to end up paying more than if you had booked right away. It’s almost become a sport–even really rich people do this–and that’s why travel websites are such a great business. You can get a ton of attention for only saving people a few bucks. Smarter Travel Media is a Boston, MA based company that has developed “a unique group of online travel planning brands” that cater to the massive number of people who gain immense pleasure from getting the best fare or rate. The brands include Airfarewatchdog, BookingBuddy, Tingo, OneTime, Smarter Travel, and SniqueAway.
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social media,
software development,
travel,
united kingdom,
web development
When I proposed to Amy, I had no doubt that she was going to say yes–even if I did it with a Ring Pop. Still, I thought it was only right to follow tradition and plunk down a bunch of money on a diamond. While some people see such an expenditure as wasteful, others just don’t like what a diamond means. They want a more socially conscious option. The good new for those people is that ethically produced diamonds do exist, and Brilliant Earth is a company that is hoping to make them the norm. Brilliant Earth is based in San Francisco, CA, and they are “the leading supplier of conflict free diamond jewelry.” It all started with two Stanford students, one of whom was about to get engaged. She wanted a ring that represented her values but was still something that she wanted to wear for the rest of her life. She and her fiancé struggled to find what they were looking for, and as a result Brilliant Earth was started to make the process easier for other couples looking for the same thing.
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gemology,
green,
Internships,
inventory control,
jewelry,
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social venture,
supply chain,
sustainability
Who watched the season finale of Million Dollar Listing New York last night? I did. I love that show, even though it seems to be more about petty squabbling than actually selling real estate. My biggest takeaway from the show is that selling a property is all about generating interest and getting people in the door to see it. If a realtor can do that, they’ll sell properties. However, most agents can’t throw open bar parties with half dressed models to attract attention–that kind of marketing only makes sense with multi-million dollar properties and six figure commissions. The average realtor needs a more affordable, simpler way to market properties. That’s exactly what BoomTown offers. They’re a Charleston, SC based software company that “has generated millions of leads for real estate teams.” 4,329,036 leads to be exact. They do this by offering “a complete online system that leads more Internet home buyers to [an agent’s] virtual door, then gives real estate agents proven tools to turn clicks into closings.”
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South Carolina,
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writing
One of the best parts about having a significant other is discovering embarrassing moments from his or her past. While my greatest find is the Cosmo cover with my wife’s 4 year old, lipstick smeared face and the headline “How to Attract Men Like Crazy,” a close runner up is the recruiting video that she sent to college volleyball coaches. Her mom shot it with the family camcorder, and it starts with a cheesy opening like “Hi, my name is Amy Gordon, and I want to play volleyball for your team (thumbs up).” It’s priceless, though I shouldn’t make fun considering that this video helped her get recruited to Cornell’s volleyball team–and that’s how we met. College sports recruiting has come a long way, and now most of it happens online. National Collegiate Scouting Association is a Chicago, IL based company that “was founded in 2000 to help student athletes and their families navigate the cutthroat, competitive, and often confusing world of college recruiting.” While they may sound like a non-profit, NCSA is a for-profit business that has seen tremendous growth over the last decade.
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sports,
video,
web development
I moved last week, and that means I’ve been operating on other people’s schedules. Last week it was the movers, yesterday was the cleaning lady, today it was the cable guy, tomorrow it’s the box guy, and next week it’s the Salvation Army picking up all the stuff that we’re donating. While we “picked” all of the times for those appointments, we didn’t really have much of a choice. Wouldn’t it be nice to find people to help around the house who can be booked instantly online and are guaranteed to be on time? That’s what Handybook, which is based in New York, NY, offers. Unfortunately they don’t have people who will install your cable for you, but you can get cleaning, handyman, plumbing, and furniture assembly done on your schedule by professionals.
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I’ve been working at eating healthier for a while now. I have a huge appetite–and it gets bigger when I work out, so it’s not easy. I’ve made a lot of progress by shopping only around the perimeter at the grocery store and avoiding snacking, but I know that the latter is hard for people. If you’re going to snack, you might as well try to be healthy. NatureBox is a company that wants to make that easier for everyone. They’re a San Carlos, CA based ” high-growth e-commerce company that is reinventing the way people purchase healthy foods and groceries.” While I’ll assume that they have bigger plans, they’ve started by offering a monthly subscription that helps you discover “healthy, hand-picked snacks.”
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food merchandising,
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nutrition,
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paid
I have a platonic man crush on Ramit Sethi. I’ve pretty much been stalking him since 2007 (when I started ODOJ) by subscribing to his blog, signing up for his e-mail list, reading his book, poring over his Delicious links, and buying one of his courses. We even met in person once. It was in the lobby of a trendy W hotel waiting for him, and when he walked up I played it cool by slamming my head into some stupid lamp that was hanging over the lounge chair that I was sitting on. Why am I so obsessed with some random Indian dude who is only a couple years older than me? Because he has built an amazing business that helps people achieve their career and financial dreams. I tend to gag at most of the advice that I hear from “career experts,” yet when I see something come from I Will Teach You To Be Rich (Ramit’s company–he used to have to reiterate that it’s not a scam because the name sounds so questionable), my eyes get all dreamy and I just start nodding in agreement. I occasionally even yell “YES!” at my computer.
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writing
Yesterday we looked at Yoga Alliance and how they’re helping the field of yoga grow from a cultural curiosity to a mainstream activity that millions of Americans participate in. Yoga is a perfect example of how we can take traditions from other cultures and integrate them into our lives to improve our health. The problem is that for every tradition that will actually make you healthier, there are probably a few that have little or no benefit (or even a negative effect). ALOHA is a New York, NY based startup that “combines traditional wisdom from diverse cultures across the globe with the latest scientific research and collaborates with the world’s most esteemed experts and health gurus to develop innovative products and inspiring content.” They’ll help you discover new ways to live a healthier, more enjoyable life–and you won’t have to worry that you’re wasting time with something that is scientifically unproven.
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It used to be that airlines were the only businesses that I could earn rewards with, but as many markets have become more competitive, companies from all kinds of industries have jumped on the bandwagon. While offering great products and services at reasonable prices should be enough to keep customers, many companies aren’t able to do that–so they offer rewards instead. The problem is that managing a rewards program has nothing to do with running most business. That’s where Destination Rewards steps in. They’re a Boca Raton, FL (and Plymouth, MI) based company that creates and manages “web-based customized rewards programs.” Destination Rewards does all of the heavy lifting, and their clients can just plug and play.
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travel,
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When I was a kid, a magazine subscription was one of the best gifts that you could get me (especially to Beckett Baseball Card Monthly). I loved the excitement of receiving mail, and I loved the magazine format. Today the only magazines that I receive in the mail are the ones that come free with memberships. Almost all of my content consumption is digital now, but that doesn’t mean that the magazine is dead. Issuu is “the world’s fastest growing digital publishing platform.” The company is based in Palo Alto, CA, but they also have a significant presence in Copenhagen, Denmark (focused mostly on design and engineering). Issuu’s goal is to change the publishing industry by “making it a more democratic, colorful and free place to be.”
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user experience,
web development
I’m moving in two weeks… because I’m getting a puppy in three weeks (and my current landlord does not approve). This will be my third move of under 2 miles in the past five years, so I expect it to go pretty smoothly. However, I realize that for a lot of people moving is a huge deal and causes a ton of stress. The physical move is usually a big part of it, but it’s all the little things like forwarding your mail and setting up new utilities that drive you crazy. Managing those things would be a lot easier if the actual move was mostly taken care of for you. That’s what Moveline offers. They’re a New York, NY based startup that is offering “a radically easier way to move.” A radically easier move is still a huge pain in the butt, but I’m not sure there will ever be a startup that can change that.
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You’ve probably noticed that most of the small businesses that you interact with aren’t all that tech savvy. Whether you’ve visited their websites or tried to make a purchase, it’s often glaringly obvious that the owner shouldn’t be anywhere within 50 feet of a computer. The problem is that being online and tech savvy is becoming more and more important to running any kind of business. Merchants who can’t keep up will have a hard time. MOpro makes it easy for business owners to do all of the technical and marketing things that they might not be able to do on their own. They’re a Los Angeles, CA based company that expands “the digital possibilities for small businesses.”
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software development,
video,
web development
Amy and I are getting a puppy in about a month! I don’t think we’ve processed how much it is going to change our lives yet, but we’re getting really excited about being new “parents.” While our little puppy is going to have a great home, many dogs and cats aren’t so lucky. There are way too many pets that don’t live in safe, caring environments. Bideawee is an organization that has been trying to change that for more than 100 years. They are a New York, NY based non-profit that aims “to cultivate and support the life-long relationships between pets and the people who love them.” They do this by offering a wide array of services for animals and pet owners.
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animals,
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marketing,
New York,
non-profit,
veterinary
Sales is all about relationships. Whether you’re trying to convince someone to make a one time purchase or enter a ten-year contract, you need to build a certain level of trust and empathy (the level is much higher in the latter case). Sometimes it only takes one conversation, but it often takes many more. A sales person has to be organized to ensure that his or her communications are continuously moving towards a sale. The tools for doing that used to be a rolodex and a notebook, but that has obviously changed. What hasn’t changed is the need for mobility in a customer relationship management system, and that’s exactly what Base CRM offers. They are a Chicago, IL based company that “is paving the way by building the next generation of CRM software.” They realized that most competing software is a burden (not a useful tool) for salespeople, so they decided to build something that people would actually want to use.
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Poland,
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writing
You’ve been scolded to “get tested” by television advertisements, health teachers, random people on your college campus, and maybe even your doctor. While they’re all making assumptions about your personal life that may not necessarily be true, it’s sound advice for the large majority of people. Unfortunately, getting tested for STDs isn’t something that the average person looks forward to, and the whole thing only gets more awkward when the results come in. What is one supposed to do with the results? I’m pretty sure I knew a guy in college who posted his test results on his bedroom door, but most people aren’t quite that forward. Qpid.me is a Los Angeles, CA based company that “makes having ‘the conversation’ about STD status easier.” They do this by giving people easy online access to their verified STD test results with the option of sharing them privately. You can see what that looks like by visiting the company’s founder’s test results.
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medicine,
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Most of you are probably too young to remember when travel agents were a thing. Before the Internet, booking and planning a trip was much easier with the help of a professional. Today, having someone book your travel is often an unnecessary complication for most travelers. But if you’re the kind of person who travels all the time for work or wants everything to go perfectly, then you might appreciate something higher touch than booking online. That’s what FROSCH offers. They’re a New York, NY and Houston, TX headquartered company (with 30 offices across the country) that provides “high-touch leisure and corporate travel to individuals and companies.” While most travel agencies have been made obsolete by the Internet, FROSCH has continued to grow by offering a superior level of service.
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Texas,
travel
It’s funny how we all have different tolerances for looking at inanimate objects. I can spend hours looking at 150 million year old rock formations in a national park, but 500 year old paintings don’t do much for me. I guess that means that I wouldn’t have the best time visiting the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, but maybe you would. The organization runs two separate museums: the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. Combined they make FAMSF “the largest public arts institution in the City of San Francisco and one of the largest art museums in the United States.”
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Amy and I are heading home from our “minimoon” today. Our “real” honeymoon will come sometime next year, and we’re planning on going to Japan. The goal of the minimoon was to relax and recover after all of the craziness that comes with a big wedding. We spent the past few days at a resort/spa in the desert on the Utah/Arizona border, and it has been incredible. I checked to see if the resort has any jobs, but I struck out. Then I stumbled on another desert resort that has a ton of career opportunities. It’s called Canyon Ranch, and it’s a resort and spa with an “innovative approach to health, wellness and holistic and integrative care.” They got their start in Tucson, AZ, but they have since added locations in Lenox, MA; Miami Beach, FL; Las Vegas, NV, and… on a boat.
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Cupcakes are supposed to be a miniature version of cake–a more reasonable and practical dessert. Yet as they moved from grade school birthday celebrations to being a culinary trend, they seemed to get bigger and more unhealthy–with some even pushing towards 1,000 calories. Tons of businesses popped up and seemed to offer more and more decadent cupcakes, and then the bubble burst. So how did one cupcake company continue to grow despite tons of competition and fading interest from consumers? By offering mini cupcakes that won’t instantly make your pants feel tighter. Baked By Melissa is a New York, NY based company that was started with “the idea that people should be able to taste more flavors without that post-dessert guilt trip.” Three cupcakes from Baked By Melissa add up to 140 calories. It’s still not health food, but it’s a reminder of what cupcakes were originally meant to be.
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As an online publisher I understand how difficult it is to balance ads and content. I’m lucky in that the job search space allows a little more flexibility–most job postings are technically ads, so people don’t really differentiate between “editorial” and paid placement (though I still try to). The toughest part for most publishers is that ads perform best when they blend in with the content. This is really hard to do in an honest and unobtrusive way, but that’s exactly what Vibrant Media tries to do. They are based in New York, NY, and they are “the world’s leading provider of in-content contextual technology that gets brand content and advertising discovered across platforms.” With a network of more than 6,000 publishers they are able to reach upwards of 300,000,000 unique visitors every month.
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I made a big mistake in sixth grade. I decided to take French instead of Spanish. In the time since, the Spanish speaking population in the United States has skyrocketed, while whether the French speaking population has grown or shrunk is pretty much irrelevant. Here’s a stat that tells you all that you need to know: almost 10% of all U.S. based Google searches are done in Spanish. Bilingual marketing is becoming a huge business, and we all know that local marketing is already huge. YaSabe is a Herndon, VA based company that is brining the two together. They are “committed to connecting businesses, Latino culture, and community allowing users to be ‘in the know’ and confidently make choices about how and where to spend their time and money.”
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Virginia,
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My soon to be wife and I are planning on moving to a new place in July, which means that we’ve been spending a lot of time on real estate websites. One thing that I’ve learned in the process is that many real estate agents have no idea how to use the Internet. The web is an amazing medium for showing off a property, yet time after time I come across terrible listings for really nice places. Why would you make the first photo in the slideshow of the bathroom? I have no idea, but real estate agents do it all the time. Apparently, they need all of the help that they can get, and that’s exactly what Market Leader offers. They’re a Kirkland, WA based company that provides agents with “tools to effectively generate, manage, and close more transactions.” They even go so far as to guarantee leads for their clients.
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Colorado,
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Washington
In my day… Macs and PCs used completely different file formats. Writing a paper on my Mac (I was one of the few back then) and printing it on one of my school’s PCs was always a risky proposition. If I didn’t convert the file properly, I might end up with no homework and a really lame excuse for my teacher. We’re well past those days, yet many people still struggle with PDFs and other files. A simple request to sign a form and send it back can lead me down a half hour process of trying to find any way possible to avoid buying a new ink cartridge for my printer. Next time I’m going to try Nitro. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that builds “easy-to-use products that help people work smarter with digital documents.” Whether it’s for personal use or for a corporation with thousands of employees, Nitro offers a simple, affordable solution.
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writing
I used to watch a show called BattleBots. It was a competition between teams that built robots designed to kill each other. I particularly enjoyed the robotic violence, but I could still enjoy watching friendlier robotic competition. That’s what FIRST promotes. They’re a Manchester, NH based non-profit that uses robotics and other forms of technology to “to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.” FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” and it was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen–the guy who invented the Segway along with quite a few other amazing things.
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science
I have a lot of shoes for a guy. I’m pretty average when it comes to sneakers, dress shoes, and flip flops, but I have a lot of boots. A lot. Snow boots. Rain boots. Wading boots (3 pairs). Hiking boots. I can keep going… In my opinion footwear is all about specialization–there’s a shoe for every occasion. I think the people from DNA Footwear would agree (though they seem more concerned with fashion, while I’m obviously more concerned about how much water I’ll be stepping into). DNA Footwear is a Brooklyn, NY shoe retailer that is now working to be “the top online destination for today’s latest trends in the world of footwear.” They have a really wide selection with tons of notable brands.
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Internships,
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