Waking up to find your Instagram account deleted

Instagram users have previously had the shocking experience of waking up to find their accounts deactivated. For a number of those Instagram users they also don’t know why their accounts were deleted in the first place, citing that they were unaware of any rules they might have broken.

For one Instagram influencer in BC recently, plus-size model Jennifer Palsenbard, she recently found that her account on the platform had been deactivated without any explanation from the company.

Without having that account reinstated it means having to start over and gain all of those followers once more, as this is the place where many make all or a significant portion of their income.

This situation has happened to a variety of influencers over the years, with some able to have their accounts later reinstated while others haven’t been as lucky.

This is why some Instagram users might often set up backup accounts in an effort to plan for that situation ever taking place.

Scammers offer to ban people from Instagram

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For years now the restrictions surrounding social media platforms like Instagram and others have received a generous amount of criticism and questioning. From how they operate to how much of an impact they might have on society and young generations today, it hasn’t all been pretty.

Who knew that trying to ban people from Instagram might turn into a business?

But that is what it looks like for some now who are offering that service in the market.

Social media is big business and those pages with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers open account holders up to new monetization opportunities. Because of that high demand for certain usernames with those pages this also creates a business where some have taken to flipping Instagram accounts for profit.

As for those who do have their accounts deactivated it can cause a great deal of confusion. Especially when they see other people posting questionable content that seems to clearly go against the rules and standards set out by the platform.

Social Media Competition

Luckily for those who are looking to establish an online presence there are many options out there for competition with social media today. If you get deactivated from one or are having issues trying to navigate the rules, it might be an option to jump onto another platform that isn’t as complicated to satisfy.

Then again, for those who spend months or years trying to build up their brand it can be a huge loss to have to wake up to all of that having disappeared only for you to be forced to start over once more, with no explanation given as to what happened.

Now that people have seemingly established a way to get paid for banning people from the platform this is something that could contribute to make the problem worse and impacting more individual accounts.

For some in that market of trying to ban Instagram accounts for a free this is something that has become a full time job for them and some have admitted that they have made five figures from doing it.

Instagram has laid out instructions for people to utilize though if they fear that this might have happened to their account. But not everyone who attempts to have their Instagram account reinstated is going to be lucky enough to see that happen.

Cleaned Out: Where can you find PS5 in Canada?

It has been hard this year to purchase the PS5 for many even though in recent weeks it has gotten a bit easier. However, in Canada there has been a PS5 shortage. This has also meant increasing demand for older consoles as well such as second hand PS4s in Canada.

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There are millions of people who have already purchased a PS5 but many are still struggling to get their hands on one during the shortage. This means some are wondering when the PS5 restock Canada might have coming is going to show up so that there are enough to go around. Is there a ps5 restock Canada might see coming soon? When is it coming? That’s the question.

Restocking Canada PS5

It isn’t impossible to try and find a PS5 right now but it might be very expensive and there is the risk of scams going around right now for PS5 units as well. People have been selling PS5 units on Twitter and other platforms that have turned out to be just scams. Some of the ps5 units being sold online right now are running between $800-$900 or more.

Tracking PS5 restocks on social media

There is also a PS5 restock Twitter tracker to find out more information about when and where they are being restocked.

The resale price now of older units has increased because of the hot demand for not only the PS5 right now but the PS4 too. You can find these items listed now for hundreds of dollars. So when is the ps5 Canada restock? Stores like Walmart, Target, and others have been busy trying to restock the PS5 to keep up with the demand in the U.S. and here too in Canada stores have been sold out of the ps5.

Right now production for the ps5 is being ramped up to try and get the units to meet the demand in the market. As for where people have been able to find ps5 with the most success, one of those areas to look is with PlayStation Direct as this has been one of the locations to get one with the most frequent PS5 restocks available.

PS5 Causing Quite a Commotion

Finding PS5 Restock in Canada

Just like other stores had seen for the ps5 selling out due to high demand and low supply, Best Buy in Canada saw the same thing for the ps5 and they were sold out as well. This meant waiting for a ps5 Canada restock to come to those stores that quickly ran out.

Some have suggested that we might not see the ps5 supply normalize for years, as the global chip shortage is contributing to the issue here. For that global chip shortage it isn’t clear when things might normalize and in the meantime that means people are left looking for a ps5 to buy and looking to find out when a ps5 restock might be coming.

For those who are looking to secure a ps5 there are many locations to go looking for one and it might not be that long before stores like Best Buy and others are able to secure another supply of PS5 consoles from those PS5 restocks. It’s just a matter of time before things return more to normal for the supply and demand in the market.

Coming Soon to Best Buy

On the Best Buy website it notes that the ps5 restock for Canada is coming soon so you will want to keep checking back there to see when they are going to have more inventory available. Another Canadian location to check in with though they are temporarily out of stock of the ps5 is GameStop. However, at GameStop they do have ps5 gear available.

Era of Small Business: Building a Brand and Connecting Through Social Media

Thousands of small businesses today around the world are thriving. Small businesses that sell soap, body oil, beauty products, hair scrunchies, and other items. On Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and other social media platforms, small businesses today are being empowered to share their message and their products.

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Platforms like Etsy make it easy for small businesses today to get started and there are thousands of artists that can be found selling handcrafted items on Etsy and other similar sites.

As far as where do digital artists sell their work? There are many answers. A number of digital artists today have created their own websites and are selling their digital work in the form of notebooks, keychains, stickers, sticky notes, notepads, and other items.

Finding wholesale items for small business

Small business artists can create their designs and either print them at home using one of many tools that enable this or they can order them wholesale from other sources. Once that shipment comes in it’s time to unbox it all, organize it, and package for customers when the orders come in.

One of the most popular sites today for those wholesale products is Alibaba which is known for helping small business artists source a wide range of wholesale items for their business. Other items that are popular which creators use to make their own at-home designs and products include Circuit Joy printer and cutting machines for cutting stickers and other designs, as well as things like the Cricut Easy Press to make custom pieces.

For many individuals today those tools from Circut and other brands are essentially enabling people to start a business on their own from home and with little investment beforehand. Circut cutting machines can help artists to be able to cut hundreds of materials and design different items like stickers, notepads, macrame items, home decor, crafts, cards, and other crafts. This is why they’ve become so popular in recent years, because of the versatility and affordability of these machines.

Tools that empower small business creators

Once a digital artist knows that they want to set up their own business around their art and start selling then comes the question of where to sell. There are many options available and Etsy is by far one of the most popular platforms today for small businesses to sell their handmade goods and other items.

There are thousands of small businesses in Canada and around the world and those businesses are enabling individuals of all different backgrounds to pursue their own creativity and make a living, or just some extra cash on the side, by doing what they love. Social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook are helping to make it possible by enabling those creators to spread the word about their products.

It isn’t just a question of where to sell but also how to sell and social media helps answer that question.

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Using Social Media to Boost Small Business

With creative marketing campaigns on social media platforms small businesses can reach potentially millions of customers around the world, or from a targeted area or demographic.

Even if you do not have a lot of money to get started, social media enables those with fewer resources to be able to find other ways to grow their business. It means being able to reach thousands even without a lot of resources, because if you have the effort and the drive, and put the creativity behind it to create something of value, it might only be a matter of time before it resonates with many.

Social media is critical for businesses of all sizes today to build and maintain their brands and to connect with their customers. Social media allows people to increase business and increase sales with tools that are easy to use and access.

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As far as what are the most popular social media apps these days, last year we saw that names like twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok were still being frequently downloaded and ranked among the most popular. Which came in as the number one social media platform in 2020? That award went to TikTok as the most downloaded app.

What app is the best for business? The answer might be the one that most people are using and right now most eyes seem to be over on TikTok. It depends on your followers, the content being posted, and the overall engagement, as some might see more success on other platforms aside from TikTok.

TikTok had over 850 million downloads in 2020

Just one viral video on a social media platform like TikTok can have a great impact today on increasing sales for business and spreading small business brand awareness. There are a variety of videos which have gone viral which have been able to bring new life back into old businesses around the world that needed the support.

Those videos that go viral on social media go on to end up helping to prevent some of those businesses from closing because of the newfound support that they receive. For some small businesses the chance to go viral or have one piece of content fuel dozens or hundreds of orders seems like a dream, but for others it can feel like a lot of pressure.

Creators today aren’t just creating and selling, they’re also doing things for the business like digital marketing, the photography, the website design, customer service, the packaging and mailing, and trying to navigate all of that with their other needs and goals in life. Tackling all of those duties can be a bit stressful at times and the pressure to continue to create that ‘viral’ social media content might take away for some, from focusing on being mindful with their artistic creation and the business overall.

It doesn’t feel like a slow and steady approach.

Focusing on the social media aspect of the business isn’t for everyone but we have certainly seen where it can help to grow a business in more than one way and it can be a cost effective tool at growing business today.

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Through the pandemic we saw that there was a passionate cry from many to get out and support small and support local. While the large distribution channels and supply chains in our communities faced unprecedented demand through that time, it caused some to pause and think about where they buy things that they need.

The importance of our local farmers, growers, and artisans, has never been made clearer than it has been through the last year. Small businesses provide value to our communities and without our support those businesses won’t get the chance to be around that long. Supporting small business doesn’t have to mean spending money either.

Ways to support small business without spending

If there is a business that you love then follow it on social media, like the posts when you see them, comment on those posts to help with the engagement.

Find some products you cannot live without? Post about them on your own social media, tag the creators, or spread the word to your friends, co-workers, or family, get the message out there. If you do not want to spend your money on supporting a small business there are other ways to go about helping.

No action that supports a small business is too small.

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There has never been a better time than today to create a small business. Depending on what you are passionate about and what you enjoy you can seek out multiple ways to monetize that passion. It could be starting a channel on a social media platform talking about something you love, or creating soaps and selling them on your own website, designing stickers that express your artistic uniqueness and shipping them all over the world.

There are various quality and cost effective tools available for anyone looking to start their own small business and looking to monetize their passion. Making money from a side hustle is something that millions of people around the world are doing.

As of 2020 there were more than 4 million sellers just on Etsy alone who were selling their goods on that platform.

Social media is there not only to help businesses get started but to also maintain their connection with customers and to continue moving forward and growing to new levels as well.

There are millions of people who are interested in creating on their own terms and building a brand and that is helping to lift the lives of many around the world. Thanks to tools like social media platforms YouTube, TikTok, and more, it’s become much easier over the years to get started.

Babes in the Woods: Police Still Searching For Justice 70 Years Later

The bodies of two brothers were found back on Jan 14 1953, aged 7 and 8 and discovered under a fur coat in Stanley Park, Vancouver. The case became known as the Babes in the Woods murders and to this day has still never been solved.

Police are now working with forensic genetic genealogists from Massachusetts in the hope that DNA might help to solve the murders. They’ve been baffled over the case for decades and 70 years later there is still no justice in the case.

Authorities in B.C. are now hoping that DNA technology will be the key that can solve the Babes in the Woods murder of those two brothers.

To this day there aren’t any suspects that have been identified.

As a part of the investigation efforts they will be entering the DNA from the boys into a public genealogical database and looking to identify living relatives that might match. It could help to uncover those who might be related to the victims.

Cold Case: The Babes in the Woods Murders

Back in 1953 it is reported that a groundskeeper in Stanley Park had found the remains and also discovered a woman’s shoe, and other items like a picnic basket. It’s also reported that it was a woman’s fur coat that they were found under in the park.

This is one of Vancouver’s oldest cold cases and DNA technology could be the key to help uncover some information that helps to solve the case.

A hatchet was discovered back alongside the remains in Stanley Park in 1953 and it is believed that it might have been used to attack the boys. It is believed that they were also killed several years before their bodies had been discovered.

When the groundskeeper in Stanley Park had discovered it’s alleged that the two boys were already decomposed and had showed signs of trauma as well.

They do not know the clear identity of the boys still all these years later. They also do not know why those boys might have been in that region of Vancouver or exactly who was responsible for taking their lives.

Genealogical testing through private companies like GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA might be able to help and now authorities are going to give it a try because it might help bring up some new valuable leads in the babes in the Woods murders cold case.

The Charge To Recycle Millions of Masks

A Huge Waste Problem With Masks

It is estimated that Vancouver residents are responsible for disposing of around 528 million masks or more throughout the pandemic year and are still now using and disposing of them.

That is a lot of waste that needs to be dealt with and that is just in the Vancouver region alone.

Now more than ever communities are in need of solutions to deal with that trash. And one company close to home is doing a lot to help. That company from Burnaby is leading the charge when it comes to offering solutions.

They’ve come up with a way to recycle those masks and try to solve some of the problem of tremendous waste that has been created from everyone wearing them.

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The Burnaby company, known as Vitacore Industries, has been able to do the innovative work of stopping many masks from ending up in B.C. landfills.

They are able to sterilize the masks, after that they then melt them down, and then they are able to turn the material into another product that can be used.

They’ve recently held a pilot program where they were accepting used masks in collection bins at different care clinics. They were collecting thousands of masks every month.

Vitacore has also allegedly been looking to expand the project around the nation, we might see masks also being recycled in other regions, thousands of them.

The innovation and problem-solving initiative here cannot come too soon as there are millions of masks around the country that are expected to land up in landfills unless they can be repurposed and recycled in some manner, instead of wasting away in one community or another.

Still today millions of face masks are being thrown away and left on the street, to inevitably end up in a landfill, collectively contributing to thousands of tonnes of waste.

There are a variety of projects already underway around the world that are trying to solve that problem of mask waste and bring some recycling tactics to the forefront to try and address the issue.

Those efforts by Vitacore and others to recycle the face masks are going to play a tremendous role in keeping thousands of those millions of masks out of landfills. They already are and have already made that difference in recycling thousands of face masks that otherwise would’ve just been considered garbage that had no value to be offered.