<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55db4d3e9dd7cc22008b579f-960-720/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="maxresdefault" data-mce-source="YouTube" /><p class="source"><span>YouTube</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Dr. Dre's ex-fiance and famed singer <span>Michel'le, who claims she was beaten by Dre over the course of their relationship, isn't buying into the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dr-dre-apologizes-to-women-hurt-after-straight-outta-compton-controversy-2015-8">public apology</a> </span><span>he made recently to "the women I've hurt." </span></p><p><span>Dre and Michel'le were together for six years and have a son.</span></p><p><span><span> "I don't really think it's a sincere apology," Michel'le told <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34039021/dr-dres-ex-girlfriend-michelle-says-his-apology-to-women-is-insincere">BBC</a>. "<span>I didn't ask for a public apology and I think if he is going to apologize he should do it individually." </span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>She added, "T<span>reat us like we have names."</span></span></span></span></p><p>Many women have publicly addressed the rapper's alleged violence toward them over the years. Most recently <a href="http://gawker.com/heres-whats-missing-from-straight-outta-compton-me-and-1724735910">Dee Barnes</a>, a former radio host who says she was attacked by Dre in the 90's, spoke out against that incident not being included in <span>"Straight Outta Compton," a biopic about Dre's former rap group N.W.A</span>. </p><p><span>Barnes claims she was beaten by Dre on the floor of the woman's bathroom in a Los Angeles night club.</span><span><br /></span></p><p>A similar scene was included in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-dr-dre-assault-on-dee-barnes-isnt-in-straight-outta-compton-2015-8">an early script for "Straight Outta Compton</a>," but it was cut because directors "<span>couldn't fit everything into the movie."</span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Dre released the apology just after the film hit theaters.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>"<span>I've been married for 19 years and every day I'm working to be a better man for my family, seeking guidance along the way," the music mogul told The New York Times. "</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>I'm doing everything I can so I never resemble that man again. </span><span>I apologize to the women I've hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives."</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But Michel'le calls his statement nothing </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">more than "</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">good PR at the moment."</span></p><p><span><span><span><span>"<span>He's selling a movie," she said. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>According to Michel'le, the alleged violence against her lasted for five or six years and began to significantly impact her career. <span>"I had to cover two or three black eyes for my videos," she said. "One of the makeup ladies said, 'You've got to stop letting him beat you.'"</span></span></span></span></span></p><p>She also detailed specific incidents of Dre's alleged violence, including a time he supposedly beat her because she didn't cook enough chicken. </p><p>"One night I baked him chicken and I didn't make enough," she said. "He beat me because I didn't have another piece of chicken. It became that kind of relationship. I would move out for three or four months and come back. We just had a cycle."</p><p>According to BBC, 24 years have passed since Dre and Michel'le were together, but she still thinks about the alleged violence often. "<span>I don't want this new generation to think that its ok," she said. "I've never stopped talking about it. That's what's so funny about this coming up now."</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/subways-jared-fogle-allegedly-sent-lewd-texts-2015-8">More trouble for Subway's Jared Fogle...</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/MDlhYjRhYmQyMjA2NWM2Yzg4YTJkYzcz"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5ncHNudjonEIaSoYSJP9tcN-cA_jh7Sm" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '5ncHNudjonEIaSoYSJP9tcN-cA_jh7Sm',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Dr. Dre's ex-fiance calls his apology about alleged assault 'not sincere' and 'nothing more than a PR statement'

<p>Taylor Rue turned a public shaming into a paycheck.</p><p>While<strong> </strong>appearing on the latest season of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/love-is-blind-what-it-was-like-being-on-show">Netflix's "Love is Blind"</a> — in which single people date<strong> </strong>and then choose a potential spouse sight unseen — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/jp-taylor-love-is-blind-relationship-red-flags-2023-10">things went awry in Rue's newfound relationship</a>. Her then-fiance blamed their lack of chemistry on her appearance.</p><p>"I understand that you tried to present yourself and look as best as you could, but I feel like if you were able to present yourself like this, without any makeup, it would've been better," Jared Pierce, known as JP, told Rue on the show, which premiered in September 2023. "It felt like you were fake. You had a caked-up face, fake eyelashes."</p><p>Rue ended things with Pierce shortly after that scene, and she used<strong> </strong>the opportunity to send a message to other makeup lovers — and make some money for herself, too.</p><p>"Everybody watched all the makeup comments, and in that moment, it was a super hurtful thing at that moment, right?" Rue told Business Insider.</p><p>"So I just wanted to make light of the situation, and I really wanted people to understand, especially women, that it's OK to wear makeup and feel 10 out of 10," she said. "It's OK to go bare-faced and feel 10 out of 10, and whoever your partner is that you end up with should love you both ways."</p><p>Through her new <a target="_blank" href="https://cakedupshop.company.site/">hat brand called "Caked Up,"</a> Rue took the words Pierce used against her and turned them into a business. It's a tool other celebrities, influencers, and reality stars have used in 2023: creating economic opportunities for themselves via revenge.</p><p>Take Taylor Swift — since embarking on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-eras-tour-cost-of-tickets-for-multiple-shows-2023-8">US leg of her Eras Tour</a> and rerecording her albums to gain ownership over all her music, she's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-net-worth-spending-2018-8">surged to billionaire status</a>. Spotify <a target="_blank" href="https://deadline.com/2023/12/taylor-swift-generates-more-than-100m-in-spotify-streaming-1235649983/">declared</a> her the most-streamed artist of the year, bringing her over $100 million in earnings. And with the public psychologically inclined to support "the underdog," making business off of revenge is a trend that's unlikely to stop anytime soon.</p><div type="image" title="Taylor Rue wearing her Caked Up hat brand." height="1287" width="1716" msid="106323347" hostid="261" sizebytes="78038"></div><p>Welcome to the revenge economy.</p><h2><strong>'Making lemonade out of lemons'</strong></h2><p>It's a story Swifties know and love. After Swift's old label, Big Machine Records, sold her music to manager Scooter Braun in 2019 without her consent, she described the sale as being stripped "of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy."</p><p>One year later, enter Taylor's Version: Swift began rerecording her albums so she could have full ownership over her music and, since then, has completed four<strong> </strong>of the 10 albums she hopes to rerecord.</p><p>This year, Swift's revenge releases <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-net-worth-spending-2018-8">helped her hit billionaire status</a>. Her hugely successful Eras Tour, which featured many redemption songs about her exes and business betrayals, brought in $370 million in ticket and merchandise sales. The Eras Tour concert film also saw $96 million in box office earnings on its opening weekend.</p><div type="image" title="Taylor Swift" height="512" width="1024" msid="106323348" hostid="261" sizebytes="34406"></div><p>While Rue is profiting at a much smaller scale compared to Swift, she told BI it's been going well — some of her hats have already sold out, and she said she will start selling sweatshirts and phone charms with the same Caked Up branding.</p><p>On top of her merchandise, she said she has also secured a brand deal with clothing store Express, and she recently signed with a manager in the hopes of getting more makeup brand deals out of that. Rue declined to share how much revenue she's booked from her revenge-related endeavors.</p><p>"I'm making lemonade out of lemons," Rue said. "It's a great opportunity for business, but at the same time, it sends a message to women that it's OK to be caked up."</p><p>Matt Johnson, who authors a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.neuroscienceof.com/branding-blog">branding psychology blog</a> called Neuroscience Of and worked in the academic neuroscience field, told BI he's not surprised the public wants to support people like<strong> </strong>Rue.</p><p>"There is something just really appealing about cheering for the character with the least expectations, that is against the odds, it speaks to the triumph of the human spirit," he said. "We really empathize with their suffering, we become invested in their success, and we see ourselves in the underdog, as well."</p><p>Ariana Madix from Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules" has also cashed in on being publicly jilted. The reality show, which premiered in 2013, follows the lives of staff at "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Vanderpump's restaurants, in which bartenders Madix and Tom Sandoval started dating early on.</p><p>Enter "Scandoval" in March 2023, when Madix discovered Sandoval was having an affair with one of her close friends. The public rushed to slam Sandoval in support of Madix, and she's since secured numerous brand deals that could earn her <a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-07-07/ariana-madix-net-worth-brand-deals-partnerships-jobs-scandoval">as much as $200,000 per deal</a> for bigger brands.</p><div type="image" title="Ariana Madix" height="512" width="1024" msid="106323351" hostid="261" sizebytes="19312"></div><p>A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thecut.com/2023/05/ariana-madix-vanderpump-scandoval-brand-deals.html">flood of brands</a> sponsored her following the cheating scandal, including partnerships with sex toy shop Bellesa Boutique, Bic Razors, Bloomingdales, Lay's Chips, Uber One, and more. She even launched her own sandwich shop with fellow costar Katie Maloney<strong> </strong>ahead of schedule, called Something About Her, along with a merchandise line, to capitalize on the support she received in the months following the scandal.</p><p>"People were saying, 'How can we support?' So we launched it early," Madix told Andy Cohen in May. Launching early worked for her, <a target="_blank" href="https://variety.com/2023/shopping/news/ariana-madix-brand-partnerships-scandoval-tom-sandoval-vanderpump-rules-1235625721/">bringing in $200,000</a>.</p><h2><strong>The 'sweet spot' in branding</strong></h2><p>It's difficult to put a number on the revenge economy — largely because it depends on how revenge in each situation is defined. But whether or not there's a figure to place on the trend, the influencers that make up this particular economy have a special ability to appeal to the public's emotions.</p><p>When looking at social media influencers in particular, a 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w31243/w31243.pdf">working paper</a> from Cornell's Lin William Cong and Hong Kong University's Siguang Li found that the "creator economy" has surged over the past few years. Valued at $1.7 billion in 2016, it grew to $9.7 billion in 2020, with about 50 million creators contributing to brand creation.</p><p>The rise in creator marketing and branding means influencers must think extra hard about who or what companies they enter business agreements with. Nilou and Cameron Ajdari, founders of talent firm Currents Management, told Business Insider<strong> </strong>that brand partnerships make up about 90% to 95% of the revenue most creators are bringing in. Still, it's important to look beyond profit when evaluating each opportunity.</p><p>Cameron said that in addition to a well-paid sponsorship, "the sweet spot" is one that "aligns with your audience, community, interests, the type of content you create."</p><p>And the underdog niche is a popular one.</p><p>A brand campaign that "was heard around the world," Nilou said, was TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney's Bud Light deal in April.<strong> </strong>Mulvaney — who has amassed<strong> </strong>more than 10 million TikTok followers over her popular series detailing her transition to girlhood — promoted beer brand Bud Light on her social media. It led to a backlash from conservatives who took issue with Mulvaney's<strong> </strong>gender<strong> </strong>identity and<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bud-light-transgender-controversy-backlash-boycotts-history"> called for a boycott of the beer</a>.</p><p>"There's no bad press in our industry because either way, the brand starts trending," Nilou said. "And we think that that campaign, for example, has strong feelings because Dylan Mulvaney stands for a lot of things."</p><p>But The New York Times <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/bud-light-boycott.html">reported</a> that boycotts tend to be short-lived, with Sarah Kate Ellis, president of LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD, telling the Times that "companies will not end the standard business practice of including diverse people in ads and marketing because a small number of loud, fringe anti-LGBTQ+ activists make noise on social media."</p><p>Amid the controversy, Mulvaney gained support from other brands. In October, she <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/10/13/dylan-mulvaney-wins-woman-year-award-attitude-magazine/71174565007/">won</a> Woman of the Year by UK magazine Attitude, and days after the Bud Light uproar began, she <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/nike-transgender-dylan-mulvaney-sports-bra-model-days-after-bud-light-furore-1792872">secured</a> a major partnership with Nike. She also made it on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/dylan-mulvaney/?list=30under30-social-media/&amp;sh=5403733349a2">Forbes' 30 Under 30 list</a> for social media after earning about $2 million last year due to the host of brand deals she's secured, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/dylan-mulvaney-has-partnerships-these-brands-bud-light-list-1794187">including</a> MAC, Aritzia, CeraVe, and Kate Spade.</p><p>"A celebrity elicits a lot of feelings from people, like people know them for who they are, what they do, in a bigger way. There's mixed feelings about celebrities," Nilou said. "It can be hit or miss, and sometimes these agencies get it wrong. The boxes have to be checked for a celebrity to line up with a brand."</p><div type="image" title="Dylan Mulvaney" height="512" width="1024" msid="106323352" hostid="261" sizebytes="18528"></div><h2><strong>Why we're so drawn to the revenge story</strong></h2><p>While revenge profits are largely driven by money, there's a psychology behind its appeal: Everyone loves an underdog.</p><p>While Swift might not immediately come to mind as an underdog, given her billionaire status, her story makes the general public want to sympathize with her. She couldn't have ownership over the music she created, so she took matters into her own hands.</p><p>It speaks to the larger idea of why celebrities, reality stars, and influencers — big and small — can create success from bad situations.</p><p>"There is also something uniquely American about the underdog story as well, that this is sort of a personification of the American dream that you can come to America, whatever situation you're born into, that's not destiny, and you can rise above the situation with your own hard work," Johnson said. "It's through your own will and determination that you can elevate your situation."</p><p>He added that a story that is "told authentically and is believable," entices the public to be on the side of the underdog — and if that means buying paying for concert tickets, or purchasing their merchandise, then so be it. Of course, Johnson said the underdog appeal has a potential downside: "Some people can really overplay their hand the victim card, and it might not resonate."</p><p>Still, when looking at the business successes of Swift, Rue, Mulvaney, and Madix<strong> </strong>this year, while each of them has different levels of fame, the common thing among them is relatability and rising above a tough situation. It shows the public wants to spend their money on things they can relate to, in turn helping elevate a star's image — and the star's wallet.</p><p>"Even when you're Taylor Swift level, you're still really utilizing the underdog storytelling to really bring people into your ethos," Johnson said. "So I think it just really speaks to how incredibly powerful the underdog story is."Amid the controversy, Mulvaney gained support from other brands. In October, she <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/10/13/dylan-mulvaney-wins-woman-year-award-attitude-magazine/71174565007/">won</a> Woman of the Year by UK magazine Attitude, and days after the Bud Light uproar began, she <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/nike-transgender-dylan-mulvaney-sports-bra-model-days-after-bud-light-furore-1792872">secured</a> a major partnership with Nike. She also made it on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/dylan-mulvaney/?list=30under30-social-media/&amp;sh=5403733349a2">Forbes' 30 Under 30 list</a> for social media after earning about $2 million last year due to the host of brand deals she's secured, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/dylan-mulvaney-has-partnerships-these-brands-bud-light-list-1794187">including</a> MAC, Aritzia, CeraVe, and Kate Spade.</p>

The year of the revenge profit 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Steph Douglass owns 29 rental units and is the co-founder of an Austin real estate brokerage.</li><li>She bought and rents out a tiny house in her yard to pay for her mortgage.</li></ul><p><em>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Steph Douglass, owner of 29 rental units and co-founder of Open House Austin. It has been edited for length and clarity.</em></p><p>I bought my first house in 2013 in Austin, Texas when I was just 24-years-old. I didn't think I would ever buy another one, but now I own 29 rental units.</p><p>When I bought my first house, I was teaching fourth-grade math and didn't have a very high income — I started at $43,000 and ended my 7-year-career at about $57,000 a year.</p><p>So I decided to rent out part of my house to a roommate, and I've used real estate to generate income for myself ever since.</p><p>For example, the tiny house in my yard completely pays the mortgage for the home my fiance and I live in. </p><h2><div type="image" title="Tiny house." height="3024" width="4032" msid="96325825" hostid="261"></div><strong>I started by sacrificing my own space </strong></h2><p>After I bought my first home, I rented out part of it to a roommate. Then, once I moved out and bought a second home, I rented it out long-term. But even in my second home, I rented out a room as an Airbnb. </p><p>Eventually, I got really sick of sharing my space. I had to sacrifice a lot of my privacy and I was tired of it. </p><p>That's when I transitioned to tiny houses, they were the best way for me to make money without having to sacrifice my own space.</p><p>People often overlook their yards, but there is valuable rental space back there.</p><p>My first tiny house was a converted detached garage already in my yard. But make sure to check that you live in a zone where you're permitted to have a rental in your yard. You can check that at "your city.gov" like Austin.gov. </p><p>Getting my garage ready to be rented took up a lot of time and resources. I found that buying finished tiny houses was a much better option.</p><div type="image" title="Tiny house on a truck." height="2274" width="3024" msid="96325827" hostid="261"></div><h2>My tiny house was $89,000 and fully finished inside</h2><p>I bought a pre-built, fully finished tiny house from a local place called Creative Living Solutions for about $89,000 which included delivery and tie-down fees (which secure the tiny house in place).</p><p>It was a pretty easy process. I walked around a lot and was able to see the different layouts of the tiny houses. These places need a lot of space so you can find similar stores in rural areas. </p><p>I put 20% down, so about $18,000. Saving $18,000 is no small feat, but I think many people could do it if they saved up for a few years like I did. </p><p>Then I took out an RV loan for the remaining 80%. An RV loan is about as hard to get as a car loan. You still need to qualify, and your interest rate is based on your qualifications. Our interest rate is 7%.</p><div type="image" title="Grey kitchen cabinets." height="2274" width="3024" msid="96325828" hostid="261"></div><p>We pay property taxes on the whole property (it's on the back end of a property with a built house on it, which we would pay for anyway). We also paid 6.25% RV tax upon purchase like you would with a car purchase. Utilities are around $125 amount on average for electric, water, sewage and trash total. </p><p>The tiny house came with almost everything — countertops, a fridge, and a microwave. The only things we had to get done were plumbing and electrical. So we added RV hookups to the back of our lot, behind our house, and hooked up the tiny home. We also skirted the tiny house, to cover the cinder blocks and wheels. We decided to add an expansive deck as well. All of these extras cost us about $10,000 more which we took from our savings. </p><p>After delivery, the tiny house was ready to be rented within 10 days.</p><h2><strong>I was worried people wouldn't be interested in renting it, </strong><strong>but the bookings came pouring in</strong></h2><p>We rent it short term and I would say it stays booked 80 to 99% of the time. About 90% of our renters come from Airbnb, but we also use Booking.com and VRBO.</p><div type="image" title="Grey couch inside tiny house" height="3024" width="4032" msid="96325830" hostid="261"></div><h2>Here are some of my best tips for making money off your tiny home</h2><ul><li><strong>Be fair and flexible with your pricing</strong></li></ul><p>Some people don't want to budge on their prices and lose renters because of it. My tiny house goes anywhere from $79 a night up to $200 a night based on demand. I came up with my pricing by trial and error and use an unofficial formula instead.</p><p>If it's not booked 5 days in advance, I'll drop the price $10 a night. If the next day it's still not booked, I'll drop the price by another $10.</p><p>Every time you change the price, the algorithm bumps you up in the search. So not only will you attract more people with a lower price, but more people will also see your listing. </p><ul><li><strong>Change the title of your online listing frequently </strong></li></ul><p>Changing the title of your rental every so often also bumps it up in the algorithm. We like to call our tiny house "The Cottage" but sometimes we will change how we describe the location or decor to keep things fresh.</p><div type="image" title="Bedroom inside tiny house." height="3024" width="4032" msid="96325831" hostid="261"></div><ul><li><strong>Make it cute, but don't break the bank</strong></li></ul><p>Having cute furniture goes a long way. But most of our furniture is from secondhand stores or Goodwill. I recommend going to a few different stores over a 5 day period and you'll find all you need for really cheap. </p><p>I like to stay neutral on big pieces like couches and comforters. But then spice it up with throw pillows and things that are easily replaceable as trends change. Also, people love plants — even fake ones.</p><ul><li><strong>A management company is totally worth it</strong></li></ul><p>I use a management company and they handle the cleaning and coordinating with renters. The company also helps you get your property ready by finding furniture. It's the only way to really make my rental units generate passive income. </p><p>Before we hired the company, my fiance and I were tag-teaming all the work and it was really like a part-time job. But now we get to be almost totally hands-off. I don't have to worry about guests or any issues — it's all taken care of. I maybe spend 2 hours a month on the rentals and that's just to make sure the invoices are paid and such.</p><p>We pay 30% in management fees. — I pay 20% property management fees and 10% cleaning fees, so it totals 30%. Cleaning fees depend on how many separate bookings I get per month, and the 20% management fee is based on the booking totals. It can fluctuate month by month quite a bit.</p><p>My mom actually works at the management company I use, but I recommend using a management company that specializes in short-term rentals. It's not cheap to use one, but to me, it's totally worth it because I barely have to do any real work. </p><h2><strong>You can get into the real estate game earlier than you think</strong></h2><p>On average, the tiny house grosses $3,500 a month. And then once I pay the management fees, my mortgage, and the tiny house mortgage I'm basically breaking even. But I get to live in my house mortgage-free, which is huge, and it makes me feel really awesome and powerful to not have a giant payment to worry about. </p><div type="image" title="The porch" height="2274" width="3024" msid="96325832" hostid="261"></div>I've since bought two more tiny houses that sit behind my rental properties.<p>A lot of people think that there is this huge barrier to entry into real estate. But the government wants you to buy a home for the first time and incentivizes it in certain cases. So you can put as little as 3% or 5% down — and that's really not that much. </p><p>If the median price of a home is $500,000, then 3% of that is about $15,000. And then you need to account for closing costs at about $10,000. So I would say you need to have $25,000 to get started. </p><p>Partnering with others is another way to make home-buying more affordable. I've partnered with my fiance, my mom, and my sisters. Instead of just asking people for money, I've gone 50/50 on houses so we all benefit. </p><p>From there, you can rent it to a roommate, turn it into an Airbnb, or rent out lawn space so people can park their RVs. Then, take what you would have spent on rent and use it to buy another house.</p><p>There are just so many ways you can be creative and I cannot emphasize enough the power that comes with eliminating your mortgage payment or your rent. And I can use that money to buy more properties. </p>

I bought a pre-built tiny house for my yard that brings in passive income. Here's how I set it up.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dr Kirk Honda has been creating online content since he launched a <keyword id="11949108" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="psychology" source="Orion">psychology</keyword> podcast in 2008.</li><li>In recent years, his <keyword id="11894124" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="youtube" source="Orion">YouTube</keyword> videos analyzing <keyword id="11899410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="reality-tv" source="Orion">reality TV</keyword> led to exponential growth for his channel.</li></ul><p>In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a Seattle-based therapist and professor did what around <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/21/netflix-nflx-earnings-q1-2020.html">30 million</a> other households did — he watched Netflix's buzzy reality dating show "<keyword id="13090922" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="love-is-blind" source="Orion">Love is Blind</keyword>."</p><p>Dr Kirk Honda had been uploading episodes of his podcast "Psychology in Seattle" — where he discussed pop <keyword id="11899151" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="culture" source="Orion">culture</keyword> topics such as the psychology of <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/user/10958640/the-psychology-of-john-lennon">John Lennon</a> and <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/user/10958640/the-psychology-of-bill-cosby">Bill Cosby</a> — to a YouTube channel for almost a decade, and had a modest following of around 30,000 subscribers. </p><p>Inspired by boredom, spare time, and requests from his listeners, he filmed his reaction to the first three "Love is Blind" episodes, analyzing contestants' reactions and discussing themes he sees as a marriage and family therapist.</p><p>Honda uploaded the video "thinking no one would watch it," he told Insider, but almost overnight his channel blew up. </p><p><a href="https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCOUZWV1DRtHtpP2H48S7iiw/monthly">According to the social-analytics tracker SocialBlade</a>, Honda went from an average of around 16,000 weekly views to a peak of 1.6 million in mid-May when he uploaded eight "Love is Blind" videos. They became so popular that some cast members — who Honda does not want to name — began reaching out to him with responses to the hypotheses he shared about their on-air behavior, he said. </p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RRot2oCPvjI" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>"It was very fast and it was surreal and exhilarating," Honda told Insider of his sudden growth. But it was also "terrifying," he said, to suddenly have such a huge audience.</p><p>Still, Honda rode the wave of success, creating reaction videos to shows including "90 Day Fiance," "Married At First Sight," and "The Bachelor." In the past two years, he has grown his channel tenfold, hitting 300,000 subscribers in May. </p><p>It's allowed him to turn content creation into a lucrative career, but also presents challenges — psychology influencers can face controversy and have to strike a delicate balance between creating entertaining content while upholding ethical obligations. </p><h2><strong>Honda sets himself apart by presenting a narrative contrary to popular opinion</strong></h2><p>Honda — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/law-youtuber-legalbytes-streaming-johnny-depp-amber-heard-trial-2022-4">like many YouTubers</a> — saw another spike in viewership by posting about the defamation case between Johnny Depp and <keyword id="12154120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="amber-heard" source="Orion">Amber Heard</keyword>. He's uploaded dozens of videos about the trial, analyzing testimony from witnesses including Depp himself.</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/johnny-depp-fans-take-over-social-media-with-memes-mockery-2022-4">Unlike swathes of social media</a>, Honda didn't take sides, but offered explanations for the alleged behavior some people criticized — mainly from Heard. "I'm really curious as to what is going on emotionally for her," he said, explaining why he analyzed Heard's reactions to key moments in the trial.</p><p>It's reminiscent of his attitude towards Jessica Batten, the "Love Is Blind" contestant who was <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/love-blinds-jessica-was-reality-tv-villain-we-needed-1490728">widely regarded as the villain</a> of the first season, but with whom Honda empathized in his videos.</p><p>"I won't justify any kind of abusive behavior, but I'm not going to go along with the common discourse that she's evil horrible person who is lying 100% of the time," he said of Batten.</p><p>Offering a counter-intuitive take is a natural instinct, Honda told Insider. "I don't have to try to motivate myself to defend people like that because it angers me when this sort of bullying happens," he said, suggesting this may stem from his experience seeing "injustice" as a Japanese-American person growing up in 1970s Seattle, which he describes as "very white."</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CXUNWM5veke" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Psychology In Seattle (@psychologyinseattle)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>Honda told Insider he doesn't think this approach makes him any friends, saying he has received messages from people outraged that he defends those perceived as "wrong." </p><p>But comments under his videos suggest viewers do value his nuanced take, which can feel like a breath of fresh air amid the homogenous opinions often spread online. </p><p>In October 2020, when social media was ablaze with rumors that Jada Pinkett-Smith had "cheated" on her husband Will Smith, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lw0w7JZbVA&amp;t=852s&amp;ab_channel=PsychologyInSeattle">Honda's video about the situation</a> described their interactions as largely healthy and positive. It is currently his second most popular video ever, with 895,000 views.</p><h2><strong>There's a fine line between creating compelling psychology content and breaching ethical codes</strong></h2><p>Honda is not the first therapist to spot online interest in his expertise. Perhaps most famously, Kati Morton, a California-based marriage and family counselor, has built a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Katimorton">following of over 1 million on YouTube</a>, where she's been posting psychology videos for a decade. </p><p>In 2018, she faced <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/therapist-in-shane-dawson-series-about-jake-paul-responds">backlash</a> after participating in a docuseries produced by <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-shane-dawson-went-from-king-of-youtube-to-canceled-2020-7">now-disgraced YouTube star Shane Dawson</a> speculating about whether fellow influencer Jake Paul is a "sociopath" — an <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/psychopath-vs-sociopath#summary">unofficial term for someone living with antisocial personality disorder</a>. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/4/18290795/mental-health-youtube-privacy-rewired-soul-goldwater-rule-psychology-celebrities-science">Other</a> <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/935zxv/therapists-and-fans-are-turning-against-instagrams-holistic-psychologist">creators</a> have also been embroiled in drama as followers accuse their psychology content of being misinformed. </p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9bpkr91p2xY" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>In his 14 years online, Honda said he's encountered professionals in his field who believe there's no ethical way to be a practicing therapist and an online content creator, but he disagrees.</p><p>"Sometimes I will literally just ask clients, 'Do you listen to my podcast? Because I need to know so that I can account for anything you've heard,'" he said. That may be clients perceiving him as having broken privilege (he says he always obscures details of real-life cases) or hearing him share political views. Despite these risks, Honda believes his online presence can enhance viewers' experience in therapy. </p><p>"There's a fair amount of education that can be helpful in therapy, but you don't have time, and clients have a lot of things on their minds and in their hearts that they want to tell me," he said, explaining his content can educate people on mental health, without them having to pay for the time.</p><p>"It's like another contact point with their therapist," he said. </p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6GIcOIBcSLE" frameborder="0"></iframe><h2><strong>There is a growing online appetite for psychology content</strong></h2><p>Even before his "Love is Blind" boom, Honda made enough money from <a href="https://www.patreon.com/PsychologyInSeattle">Patreon</a>, which allows users to donate money in exchange for exclusive content, to make content creation his full-time job. Now, followers can pay $50 for a personalized message from Honda via <a href="https://www.cameo.com/kirkhonda">Cameo</a>, and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@kirk.honda">his TikTok account</a>, which he said only exists because a loyal fan created his first videos for him, has racked up almost half a million likes since April.</p><blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@kirk.honda/video/7099531167933680942" data-video-id="7099531167933680942" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;"> <section> <a target="_blank" title="@kirk.honda" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@kirk.honda">@kirk.honda</a> Stop Attacking Reality Stars <a title="realitytv" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/realitytv">#realitytv</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Dr. Kirk Honda" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7101704327709903658">♬ original sound - Dr. Kirk Honda</a> </section> </blockquote> <p>Between Honda and his wife Stacy, who helps manage his platform, he estimates they spend around 80 hours a week on his online content.</p><p>"I've been working my ass off for 14 years. With so many years of no one paying attention, but always trying and always pushing and always believing and always doing it in spite of everyone going, 'Why are you doing this?'" And I think, 'If we can reach enough people, they will find it useful for them,'" he said. "And I just believed that would happen."</p>

Reacting to reality TV turned this therapist into an influencer, forcing him to make complex ethical choices

<ul class="summary-list"><li>TLC's new show "Find <keyword id="7557" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Love">Love</keyword> Live" features live-streamed matchmaking sessions.</li><li>A single person meets three prospective dates and has to choose one on camera in real time, making for an entertaining but cringe-worthy experience.</li><li>During the first episode, which aired on May 10, 27-year-old Shamonique talked briefly with three single men and decided who she wanted to go on a live-streamed first date with next week.</li><li>Viewers were allowed to give their opinion of who she should choose, and Shamonique ended up going with the man with the most viewer votes.</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>"I'm a carnivore. I'll eat you up, OK?" 27-year-old salon manager Shamonique said on-screen, while I sat in my home office cringing.</p><p>Shamonique, who goes by the nickname Shae, wasn't talking to me, but to an undisclosed audience of Americans who were watching her livestreamed date in real-time as part of TLC's new show <a href="https://www.tlcme.com/shows/find-love-live">"Find Love Live."</a></p><p>Every Sunday, two single people are introduced to three prospective dates via a livestream, and anyone with an internet connection can see the aftermath. Show host Sukanya Krishnan, a news anchor, walks each single through the process, and viewers can sound off on Twitter about their thoughts on the dates and who the single should ultimately pick.</p><p>Originally, the show was meant to be an in-person experiment, much like TLC's hit show "90-Day Fiance," Jason Sarlanis, TLC's SVP of Development, told Insider. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the show's producers had to think of a new way to air the show while following social-distancing procedures.</p><p>They landed on a live and virtual concept.</p><p>"We've always been so inspired at TLC, because of the '90-Day Fiance' franchise, to see that people can make real meaningful connections and truly fall in love in the most interesting of ways," Sarlanis said. "Before the 90 days [are up], a lot of people fall in love over Skype and <keyword id="6367193" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dating">dating</keyword> and they never see each other face to face."</p><p>They decided to take that same approach, but keep it entirely virtual, for "Find Love Live."</p><h2>Contestants have to choose between 3 potential dates and let them down on camera</h2><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Lex  (@lexvidal_) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1259685765694488578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Each episode begins with host Krishnan, who goes by 'Suki,' introducing the two singles.</p><p>Shae, for example, told Suki she was looking to date a man who is confident and independent, and Shae's mom even chimed in with date recommendations.</p><p>"She'll tell you the way it is," she said of Shae, adding that her daughter needs to date someone who can deal with Shae's "smart mouth."</p><p>After introductions, Suki got right into introducing the three dates producers chose based on Shae's requests: Jasun, Michael, and Clavacia. The men only had 30 seconds to each pitch themselves, and since it was Mother's Day, they told Shae how nice they'd be to her mother.</p><p>After the pitches, Shae had to choose one to let go. She said goodbye Michael.</p><p>With only Clavacia, an army vet from California and Jasun, a songwriter from New Jersey, left, Suki upped the ante by turning on music. She asked the two men to have a dance-off in front of Shae and all of the viewers at home. They obliged, and Jasun pulled up his shirt to show his abs.</p><h2>The show highlights how awkward virtual dates can be</h2><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTLC%2Fvideos%2F190060772042336%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>Throughout it all Shae was a good sport, giggling and telling jokes. But the date-off felt a bit forced and I couldn't help but have a bit of secondhand embarrassment for Shae and her two love interests.</p><p>Next came a round of questions Shae posed to both Jasun and Clavacia. She asked where they were from, their hobbies, and how they would woo her. Every answer seemed like an attempt to one-up the other contestant and Jasun and Clavacia kept talking over each other when Shae asked them a question.</p><p>According to Sarlanis, if a single feels like they don't mesh with any of the dates, they don't have to pick one by the show's end.</p><p>Twitter users could also vote and who they thought would be the best man for Shae, and Suki shared those results while Shae, Jasun, and Clavacia were on-screen. 66% of viewers wanted Shae to choose Clavacia, while 33% liked Jasun.</p><p>Jasun, in an attempt to win over Shae, said he's a songwriter and that he majored in psychology, so he'd be able to satisfy Shae romantically and be a pro communicator in their relationship.</p><p>"I think a big part of foreplay is the mental aspect," Jasun said when asked how he'd keep their connection alive during the pandemic.</p><p>Clavacia doubled down, saying that he too could write, but his preferred medium was poetry. He offered to write Shae poems and then go on virtual hiking trips where he could read her the poems out loud.</p><p>Shae seemed to enjoy both mens' answers, but Jasun and Clavacia would jokingly call each other's responses "cute," trying to undermine each other. Jasun also told Shae that he worried Clavacia lived too far away, so he'd be the better choice for Shae.</p><h2>Shae made a final choice in real-time, and their first date will be live-streamed too</h2><p>Suki welcomed the play-fighting, and pushed Shae along to choose one of the men even though she seemed conflicted.</p><p>In the end, Shae decided to go on another date with Clavacia and leave Jasun behind. Their future Zoom-date will be live-streamed for the world to watch too, during next week's "Find Love Live" episode. Hopefully it's just as cringeworthy.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li><strong>Read more:</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-couples-work-from-small-apartment-during-lockdown-2020-5">6 couples working from home together in their tiny apartments during lockdown show how they make it work</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/long-distance-couples-coronavirus-separation-impacting-relationships-2020-4">Three couples who have been pushed into indefinite long-distance relationships describe how they're getting by during the pandemic</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/what-its-like-to-get-erotic-massage-as-a-woman-2020-4">An army of sex toys and 4 orgasms: What it's like to get an erotic 'happy ending' massage as a woman</a></li></ul>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/tlcs-find-love-live-virtual-dating-show-cringeworthy-2020-5">Insider</a>

You'll get secondhand embarrassment from TLC's new show where singles live-stream their virtual dates

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="7444876" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Discovery-Plus">Discovery Plus</keyword> launched today as the selection of <keyword id="778108" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="streaming-services">streaming services</keyword> continues to grow.</li><li>Starting at $4.99, the Discovery Plus subscription includes shows from brands like Food Network, HGTV, TLC, BBC, and Discovery Channel, which airs the popular Shark Week program.</li><li>It will also include a "<keyword id="9148426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fixer-upper">Fixer Upper</keyword>" reboot featuring home renovation duo Chip and Joanna Gaines starting on January 29, as well as additional shows as part of the couple's Magnolia Network.</li><li>Discovery Plus is the first new streaming service to launch in 2021 as cable TV looks to be on the decline and as more viewers signal a preference for streaming platforms.</li></ul><h2>What can I watch on Discovery Plus?</h2><p>As <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/01/04/discovery-streaming-tv-service-now-live-adds-cord-cutting-options/4120053001/">USA Today</a> notes, Discovery Plus will offer "real-life" content versus original, scripted programs, such as <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword>'s "The Queen's Gambit." Think wildlife documentaries, cooking shows, and home renovation programs.</p><p>Discovery Plus is home to <a href="https://www.discoveryplus.com/?c1=Performancemktg&amp;c2=Google&amp;c3=SEMcopy&amp;c4=NA&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAlsv_BRDtARIsAHMGVSakVGgVvbFoBGHabL5gSE8f6WjXkdOrzy8KJX8-h6adCSf1GdZ5v5QaAvuEEALw_wcBv5QaAvuEEALw_wcB">"55,000 episodes"</a> of shows from a variety of brands like HGTV, Food Network, TLC, A&amp;E, History Channel, and of course, Discovery Channel, which airs the popular Shark Week series each year. Discovery Plus will also feature content from BBC, including the show "A Perfect Planet" featuring David Attenborough's unmistakable narration.</p><p>You'll recognize titles like "Dance Moms" and Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on the platform. Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis' "Bobby and Giada in Italy" will also begin airing with the launch of Discovery Plus.</p><p>A feature called Discovery Plus Channels will land on January 29 that will bring in shows like "90 Day Fiance" and a reboot of "Fixer Upper," the popular home renovation program featuring Chip and Joanna Gaines. The couple will also be airing additional shows as part of their Magnolia Network offerings, like a cooking show called "Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines."</p><h2>How does the cost compare to other streaming platforms like Netflix?</h2><p>It costs $4.99 for a Discovery Plus subscription with commercials. The ad-free option costs $6.99. Compare that to the largest streaming platform's prices: The <a href="https://help.netflix.com/en/node/24926">basic package</a> for Netflix is $8.99, while the most expensive premium option costs $17.99.</p><h2>How can I watch it?</h2><p>You can download the app on your smartphone, watch it on a laptop or desktop, or add it to your repertoire via Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and more. </p><h2>What does Discovery's streaming service mean?</h2><p>It signals one more step away from traditional cable TV and another toward what is shaping up to be a crowded streaming market.</p><p>Discovery Plus is the first new streaming service to launch in 2021. Last year, HBO Max and Peacock joined the race, and Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus were introduced in November 2019. The so-called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-disney-to-shake-up-the-streaming-wars-2019-10">"streaming wars"</a> kicked off around the same time as viewers showed an increasing tendency to opt for streaming platforms instead of paying for expensive cable bundles.</p><p>That trend has only been exacerbated by the pandemic, as people have remained in their homes and as theatres and other means of <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="entertainment">entertainment</keyword> have largely shuttered. The combined number of US subscribers for the largest streaming platforms is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/streaming-service-subscribers-up-50-last-year-2020-12">up 50% from this time last year</a>, according to a recent analysis by the Wall Street Journal, with the average American household subscribing to about three services.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-max-exec-on-warner-bros-2021-release-strategy-interview-2020-12?r=kc-sub">HBO Max's chief breaks down the seismic decision to stream all 2021 Warner Bros. movies as they hit theaters and responds to speculation about 2022 and beyond</a></em></p><p>Some studios have even opted to take theatrical releases directly to streaming platforms. Disney Plus debuted "Mulan" in September was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-watch-mulan-movie">available for free to all subscribers</a> starting in December. And "Wonder Woman 1984" was released simultaneously on HBO Max and in theatres on Christmas Day.</p><p>Warner Bros. announced in early December that it would release not just "Wonder Woman 1984" but all of its movies in 2021 on its HBO Max platform, as well as in theatres. The move <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warner-bros-movie-2021-debut-hbo-max-theaters-same-day-2020-12">signaled a greater investment into its streaming business</a> but angered many in the filmmaking world as directors and critics <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/patty-jenkins-studios-filmmakers-traditional-movie-theatres-2020-12">speculated what the future of traditional cinemas</a> will look like.</p>

The $6.99 Discovery Plus streaming service launched today with shows from HGTV and Food Network, joining an already crowded streaming market

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/564f8e2dc2814463008b4642-1920-1080/sister wives finale catfish ratings.jpg" alt="sister wives finale catfish ratings" data-mce-source="TLC" /><p class="source"><span>TLC</span></p><p class="caption">"Sister Wives" star Meri Brown was catfished by a woman posing as a man.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The catfishing drama on the "Sister Wives" finale and "90 Day Fiance" delivered big Sunday night ratings for TLC, the cable network told Business Insider exclusively.</p><p>The 9 p.m. finale episode of "Sister Wives" averaged 2.9 million total viewers, which gives the show its biggest audience and highest ratings of the season. It also garnered its highest ratings since January 2o14 with TLC's target audience, women aged 25 to 54 years old.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/564f8ee9c28144c0018b4625-1440-1080/90 day fiance nikki mark ratings.jpg" alt="90 day fiance nikki mark ratings" data-mce-source="TLC" /><p class="source"><span>TLC</span></p><p class="caption">Mark, 58, from Baltimore, Maryland is engaged to Nikki, 19, from Cebu, Philippines.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The good news continues for TLC: The "Sister Wives" finale helped drive "90 Day Fiance" at 10 p.m. to its highest-rated and most-watched episode of the season among households, total viewers, and across all key women's and adult demographics.</p><p>Furthermore, the episode ranked second to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amcs-into-the-badlands-ratings-2015-11" target="_blank">this fall's biggest series debut</a>, AMC's "Into the Badlands," on cable in TLC's target audience of women ages 25 to 54, women from 18 to 49, and all viewers aged 25 to 49 years old.</p><p>The catfishing drama has inspired a lot of headlines in the past few weeks. On the finale episode, Meri explained how empty nest syndrome (her daughter went away to college recently) <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/sister-wives-meri-brown-talks-catfishing-drama-details-w157668" target="_blank">drove her online</a> where she met a man who she would later find out was really a woman.</p><p>More will be revealed next week on <a href="http://www.people.com/article/sister-wives-tell-all-exclusive-sneak-peek" target="_blank">the two-hour "Sister Wives Tell All" special </a>Sunday at 8 p.m.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/reruns-are-sped-up-to-add-commercials-tbs-tvland-hulu-netflix-seinfeld-2015-10">Cable channels are speeding up 'Seinfeld' reruns to squeeze in more commercials</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="F4dzJkeDpgyWlMcJK3weVmk8N5az4Wgq" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'F4dzJkeDpgyWlMcJK3weVmk8N5az4Wgq',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Exclusive: TLC's hit 'Sister Wives' got its highest-rated episode with catfishing finale

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5664eeadc28144bf028b7d9d-3730-2798/rtx1xha5.jpg" alt="barack obama oval office" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Saul Loeb/Pool" /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Saul Loeb/Pool</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The White House issued a correction to part of President Barack Obama's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-isis-terror-gun-control-oval-office-speech-2015-12">during a rare Oval Office address to</a> the nation Sunday evening.</p><p>When emailing out the official transcript of his speech, the White House amended the president's comment that Tashfeen Malik, one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino, California, attack, arrived in the US as part of the US's visa waiver program.</p><p>Malik actually came to the US last year on a K-1 "<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/12/05/458573095/san-bernardino-shooting-puts-screening-for-fianc-visas-under-scrutiny">fiance visa</a>," officials have said. She was engaged to Syed Farook, the other culprit in Wednesday's shooting, which left 14 dead and wounded more than 20 others. A K-1 visa allows the individual to come to the US and be married within 90 days, making him or her eligible for a green card and putting the individual on the path to eventual citizenship.</p><p>The visa-waiver program, which Obama mistakenly referenced, allows foreign individuals to come to the US for 90 days without a visa for travel purposes <a href="http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/visit/visa-waiver-program.html">if they meet certain requirements</a>.</p><p>Obama raised the waiver program on Sunday as one of several proposals on which he urged Congress to take action.</p><p>During the speech, the president called for expanded monitoring of individuals coming to the US without visas, greater restrictions on assault weapons, and an authorization of military force against the terrorist group ISIS, also known as the Islamic State.</p><p>Despite Obama's pleas, there are few signs that congressional Republicans will yield to many of the president's proposals.</p><p>During an interview on Fox News immediately following the speech, presidential candidate and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) slammed the president's speech and called for a "<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/2016-presidential-candidates-react-obamas-oval-office-address/story?id=35613009">substantial ground army</a>" to fight ISIS.</p><p>"Nothing we heard in that speech tonight will assuage people's fears," Rubio said.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-woman-who-wore-an-american-flag-hijab-on-fox-news-owned-her-haters-2015-11">The Muslim woman who blasted Trump while wearing an American flag hijab is owning her haters  </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xpb2t5eDokQTjPBOQa0B-DOSXzwVFBFg" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'xpb2t5eDokQTjPBOQa0B-DOSXzwVFBFg',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The White House made a correction to one thing Obama said in his big Oval Office address

Stories from the pandemic

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><span><span data-post-image="" class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54ac6b196bb3f74009826098-1200-522/screen%20shot%202015-01-06%20at%206.02.18%20pm.png" border="0" alt="TLC My Husbands Not Gay"><span class="source"><span>TLC/"My Husbands Not Gay"</span></span></img></span><p></p></span></span>The new TLC special "My Husband's Not Gay" doesn't even air until January 11th, but it's already causing controversy.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The show,&#xa0;based in&#xa0;Salt Lake City, UT,&#xa0;follows&#xa0;three Mormon men who say they are&#xa0;<span>attracted to their wives, but they are also attracted to other men. They refer to it as "Same Sex Attraction" <span>-</span>&#xa0;not gay <span>-&#xa0;</span>but SSA, a</span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ccording to a show description on the </span><a href="http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/tv-schedule.htm" target="_blank">TLC website</a>.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="KonaFilter image-container"><span data-post-image="" class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54ac688769beddf0100a7cf5-618-412/tlc-my-husbands-not-gay.jpg" border="0" alt="TLC My Husbands Not Gay" width="800" style="color: #000000;"><span class="source"><span>TLC/'My Husbands Not Gay'</span></span></img></span><p></p></span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"There's no marriage that is perfect. Ours isn't. But with our faith in god we believe we can overcome anything," says one of the men in the show's trailer.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><span><span data-post-image="" class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54ac6edd6bb3f70e26826095-1200-924/tlc-my-husbands-not-gay.png" border="0" alt="TLC My Husbands Not Gay"><span class="source"><span>TLC/"My Husbands Not Gay"</span></span><span class="caption">"I'm attracted to my wife, for sure. But I'm also attracted to men, too."</span></img></span><p></p></span></span>Another male star of the show explains: "I'm attracted to my wife, for sure. But I'm also attracted to men, too."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But the premise of the show is not sitting well with many, especially GLAAD.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"This show is downright irresponsible,"&#xa0;GLAAD&#xa0;president and CEO&#xa0;</span>Sarah Kate Ellis&#xa0;<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/glaad-slams-tlcs-my-husbands-761283?utm_source=twitter" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">said in a statement</span></a><em style="line-height: 1.5em;">.&#xa0;</em><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"No one can change who they love, and, more importantly, no one should have to.&#xa0;By investing in this dangerous programming, TLC is putting countless young LGBT people in harm's way."</span></p>
<p>A&#xa0;<a href="https://www.change.org/p/tlc-cancel-your-upcoming-tv-show-my-husband-s-not-gay" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a>&#xa0;has been launched to get TLC to cancel the special. As of Tuesday night, the petition has nearly 85,000 signatures. Josh Sanders, who started the petition, explains:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>I'm urging you to cancel your upcoming special, 'My Husband's Not Gay,' which promotes the false message that gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of their faith communities.&#xa0;<span>The men featured in this show deserve to be shown compassion and acceptance. Instead, TLC is presenting their lives as entertainment while sending the message that being gay is something that can and ought to be 'changed' or that you can fight your sexual orientation by marrying someone of the opposite sex.&#xa0;</span></span></p>
<p>&#xa0;Watch the trailer for the TLC special below:</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NccyqI4L2EE"></iframe></p>
<p>TLC is the same network that brought viewers the&#xa0;<span>Gosselin and Duggar phenomenons, as well as "<span>90 Day Fiance," "Sex Sent Me to the ER," "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant," and "My Strange Addiction."</span></span></p>

People Are Outraged Over The New TLC Show 'My Husband's Not Gay'

A 32-year-old disabled vet thought ITT Tech was his ticket out of poverty - what happened shows everything wrong with the $35 billion for-profit education sector

<p class="p1"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/511ba999ecad04f73a000026-1167-875/carley-roney-and-david-liu.jpeg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="Carley Roney and David Liu" width="400" /></div><p class="source"><keyword id="1768872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="XO-Group">XO Group</keyword></p><p class="caption"><keyword id="1767053" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Carley-Roney">Carley Roney</keyword> and <keyword id="1080475" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="David-Liu">David Liu</keyword> co-founded XO Group, formerly known as <keyword id="1767052" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Knot">The Knot</keyword>. Their marriage has survived two IPOs and extreme highs and lows.</p></div>When Carley Roney and David Liu met, they were undergraduates at New York University. But it took eight years for them to fall in love.</p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"While we didn't spend much time talking to each other, we probably saw each other every weekend for a year," Liu said of the art-school program he and Roney were both enrolled in. </span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"Yah, and we spent two weeks together in the Soviet Union [through NYU] in which we exchanged exactly one word," Roney chimed in.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Years later, the two ran into each other at a party. Suddenly, it struck Roney: </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"David's kind of cute!" </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p class="p1">After that the pair were inseparable. Within seven months, in July 1993, Roney and Liu were married. It happened so quickly, Roney says her mother was convinced she was pregnant (she wasn't).</p>
<p class="p1">By 1995, they had started their first business venture together, making CD-Roms for brands like the Smithsonian. </p>
<p class="p1">The next business they founded was <a href="http://www.theknot.com">The Knot</a>, in 1996.</p>
<p class="p1">The Knot, now known as XO Group, is a publicly traded company with a number of lifestyle brands in its portfolio, including <a href="http://www.thenest.com/">The Nest</a> for new homeowners and <a href="http://www.thebump.com/">The Bump</a> for new mothers. Liu says 80% of women planning a wedding join The Knot. </p>
<p class="p1">It hasn't been easy growing a publicly-traded business together. In fact, Liu and Roney give the following advice to other couples who want to co-found a company: "Don't try this at home."</p>
<p class="p1">Business Insider spent an hour chatting with Liu and Roney about their 18 years in business together, and how they created a lasting wedding brand from scratch.</p>
<p class="p1">Here's the lightly edited tell-all:</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Business Insider: Your wedding didn't go as planned—it was on a rooftop in July without air conditioning on the hottest day in 10 years. How did you end up running a wedding business, when you didn't know much about <keyword id="6367159" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Weddings">weddings</keyword> to begin with?</strong></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Liu: We did something terrible in our past lives, I think.</span></p>
<p class="p1">Roney: You do whatever you do when you're in the hot seat. You call everyone you know to call everyone <em>they</em> know to find <em>anyone</em> in the industry. I did everything from calling my high <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">school best friend's fiance's dad because he ran a </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">veil company. I remember thinking "Oh my gosh, what are we getting into here?"</span></p>
<p><div class="image-container float_left" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/511bcb7069beddfa6e000001-400-300/quote1-4.jpg" border="0" alt="the knot quote" width="250" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p></div></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We just went about educating ourselves and learning everything about weddings. I read 20 back issues of every bridal magazine I could find.</span></p>
<p class="p1">Liu: This was 16 years ago [The Knot launched in 1996]. It was a different time. The qualities we've held as high importance to be successful are curiosity and the desire to learn. Our approach was, "It's an exciting opportunity, we see these magazines as enormous, advertising-filled products and there's clearly demand." </p>
<p class="p1"><span>There's a level of naivete that I think makes entrepreneurs successful. <span>When you know too much you know enough not to start the business.</span></span></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>How did you establish roles both at home and in the company?</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Roney: There were four of us who founded the company. I handled the consumer team. David had the entrepreneurial background and knew about technology. Another was into promotions and sales and the other came from an advertising agency. All of us went to film school together. We ran in our own directions and it worked.</p>
<p class="p1">Liu: We worked long 16-hour days, seven days a week. It wasn't until we got venture-capital financing that we needed a CEO. They said I was the person.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>How did you manage three children and a startup?</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/511bccae69beddd16e00001b-400-266/quote2-9.jpg" border="0" alt="the knot quote" width="250" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p></div>Roney: We had our first baby at potentially the worst time ever—about 15 minutes after getting our first venture-capital financing.</p>
<p class="p1">So the heat turned on just about the time the baby popped out and it was a really, really challenging time. I took a two-and-a-half-week maternity leave and then brought the baby into the office. </p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We had a really tight staff who didn't care that there was a baby wandering around in the back. If I had a meeting or David had a conference call we'd give the baby to the intern who'd get strapped into a baby Bjorn. </span></p>
<p class="p1">You learn very quickly how to balance it all. You work in the middle of the night when the kids are asleep and you eat a lot of take out.</p>
<p class="p1">I get asked to be on panels about work-life balance. There's no such thing. When you have kids, it's work-life <em>imbalance</em>. At first you panic and think you're doing everything poorly. Then you learn you can be incredibly efficient. Having kids has made us better managers and more understanding.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>In The Wall Street Journal, you said investors don't like married couples and you had to hide the fact that you were married. Is that true?</strong></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container float_left" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/511bd04969bedd1d7a000002-400-266/quote0.jpg" border="0" alt="the knot quote" width="250" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p></div>Liu: Carley didn't take my name. I don't think we were actively hiding it but it wasn't evident. When we were doing rounds of financing, one investor mentioned that the job of a venture capitalist is to manage risk. So they may like an idea and an opportunity and the entrepreneurs, but when you invest in a married couple, you invest in an element of risk that is uncontrollable.</span></p>
<p class="p1">That's not to say you can't get outside financing, but it is something, I think, that gives investors pause.</p>
<p class="p1"><span>We brought our marriage up to our VCs right before we closed on the deal. </span>Our VC [had invested in three other couple-founded startups] and invested anyhow. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I asked after what happened to those three couples. They said one was a huge success and two of them were complete failures that wound up in divorces. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Is it difficult to be married to a fellow entrepreneur?</span></strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Liu: Particularly in the startup phase, you are spending most of your life with the people at work,  and your work becomes your family.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/511bcd8969bedd487400000a-400-266/quote4-4.jpg" border="0" alt="the knot quote" width="250" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p></div>If your spouse isn't actually working with you, I think there's a greater chance you wind up in divorce because of the lack of understanding of the intensity. The passion for the business steals the attention and time.</p>
<p class="p1">Our other two partners had significant others during that time ... unfortunately their relationships did not survive.</p>
<p class="p1">Roney: I'd hate to just be married to an entrepreneur. I'd rather be married and working with an entrepreneur.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Your advice to other couples is: "Don't try this at home." Why?</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Liu: Cofounding a company with a spouse is really hard. The rate of failure for startups is so high that you kind of attach your marriage to a business that has unpredictable outcomes.</p>
<p class="p1">As a married couple in business together you will experience highs that most couples will never experience. When you close a big deal or IPO with your spouse it's extraordinary. But some of the lows can be unbelievably dark. Deeper and darker than other couples will likely experience.</p>
<p class="p1">Marriage is tough as it is. To add the unpredictability of a business is really hard. You have to really make sure you're ready for the ups and downs.</p>
<p class="p1">Roney: That said, we're big supporters of married couples with startups and have personally invested in them. We actually think it's a competitive advantage because we know they're doing business more hours of the day than anyone else. When you're brushing your teeth and pillow talk is all strategy.</p>
<p><div class="image-container float_left" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/511bce12ecad04c37f000000-400-266/quote5-4.jpg" border="0" alt="the knot quote" width="250" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p></div></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>Let's talk about this business you've spent 16 years building. How big is XO Group, as The Knot is now called?</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Liu: We now have 650 employees. 80% of women planning a wedding sign up to be our members ... there is definite carry-over of membership across our brands—The Nest, The Bump, etc.—just not in the order you would think.</p>
<p class="p1">Roney: We have 17 city guides for weddings that come out twice a year and a national Knot magazine that comes out four times a year. The Bump has a magazine that comes out twice per year. </p>
<p class="p1">Liu: Our publishing is up 18%, which shocks even us.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">And the site launched on AOL?</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Liu: We were seed-financed by the venture arm for AOL. iVillage [also] came out of that. We launched on AOL in September 1996, and we didn't have a website until July 1997. There were no pictures on the Web and there was no advertising or ad servers online. It was the early days in the wild, wild West. </p>
<p class="p1">Roney: AOL had a platform, and they needed people to create "apps" to stay on the platform, kind of like Facebook now.... <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">AOL liked our content category. They invested in us and an astrology group. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I kid you not, we were the first company to have advertising on our platform because we didn't really have another idea to make enough money for the business to survive. 2 million brides were not going to spend enough time on our section to make money. One of our first advertisers was Nicole Miller.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><strong>You survived the bubble burst, but barely. What was it like to be listed on an exchange, then delisted, then listed again? And how did you bounce back?</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Liu: We went public December 2, 1999. I think we were one of the last consumer media companies to get out before the bubble burst. Our stock price doubled over the first day of trading then it descended over the next few years.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/511bdc1becad04661a00000e-400-266/quote00.jpg" border="0" alt="the knot quote" width="250" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p></div>The requirements for being listed on NASDAQ are, if you trade below $1 for 90 days, you get booted. And we hit a low price of $0.26. You still remain a public company, you just trade in the pink sheets. We were delisted in 2001, just before the World Trade Center collapsed. Those were some of the darkest moments. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We never tried any tactics to manipulate the stock price. We always saw our revenue was growing and we were reducing our losses. By 2003 we became cash-flow positive. The hard part is getting attention from the equity market because once you're trading in the pink sheets, most hedge funds are no longer allowed to buy you. So you need the volume to get relisted.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It's not necessarily another IPO, but to get relisted you need to trade above $5 for 180 days. To get that kind of volume support, I spent a year with my CFO and investor-relations person going to investor conferences with doctors and lawyers and individual investors who might buy the stock. As people started seeing how profitable we were, we started trading above $5 and we got relisted in 2005. We made the decision to switch to the NYSE one year ago when we changed the name to XO Group.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">How is XO Group doing now?</span></strong></p>
<p class="p1">Liu: Now we have very high margins. Our gross margins are north of 80%. Operating margins are significantly less because we're investing in building the business. In the past year and a half we bought back $90 million of our own stock. We have no debt and still have $70 million in cash. </p>
<p class="p1">We have five different revenue streams. Local advertising (listing subscriptions; being paid by local vendors). That is our largest revenue stream. Then we have national advertising (Macy's, jewelry companies, etc). Then a registry business (comparison shopping meets an affiliate network). We get a commission on registry referrals. We have e-commerce (personalized napkins, glasses, etc.). Then we have our publishing business and the advertising that runs in our magazines. There are no membership fees for users.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">How is social media changing your business? Is Pinterest a big competitor? Is it a struggle to stay relevant?</strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Roney: The more inspiration people are finding, the better. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A healthy ecosystem is probably better for our business. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span>We were always built on social. We never came in to be the authority on weddings. We came in to be the connector between people. Our brand was built on word of mouth marketing. We created a world in which couples felt they were taking ownership and helping build this brand with us. Like a secret society and we were girls who were a couple of steps ahead of them, crowdsourcing advice from experts.</span></p>
<p class="p1">For example, on Valentine's Day we're launching a social initiative called <a href="http://wedding.theknot.com/dream-wedding-contest.aspx?MsdVisit=1">The Knot Dream Wedding.</a> <span>The Knot Dream Wedding is the first ever live-streamed and crowd-sourced wedding. Beginning in January, America voted on everything from a couple to win the wedding of their dreams, to the theme of the wedding, tuxedos, etc. The couple is being flown to Bryant Park.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="image-container float_left" style="width:250px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/511bcf4b6bb3f7916f000014-400-266/quote7-1.jpg" border="0" alt="the knot quote" width="250" /></div><p class="source">Business Insider</p></div>Liu: When you already have such a large market share, you're forced to be comfortable with the fact that there are other products people are going to rely on. We know that when that bride walks into that magazine store, she's going to walk out with all five publications.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We were never going to be the authority in the category, but we were going to be a place where you could talk to other women in the same mindset.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Final question: What is it like being the most prepared family in the world? You probably have more knowledge about marriage, homes and family-life than anyone else.</span></strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Liu: Well this is all knowledge we wish we had ten years ago! The day we drove home from the hospital with our daughter, our friend asked: "Do you have any diapers at home?"</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We literally had to pull over to a 24-hour CVS to buy newborn diapers. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Roney: We're learning from our mistakes and helping everyone else not make them.</span></p>

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