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May 15, 2008

CFCC Ad Network Grows

We take a lot of pride in the CFCC Ad Network. Not just anyone can throw up an ad in the CFCC network for whatever they want so long as they fork up the cash. They have to add value to your time here. That said, we just recently added two new advertisers, and we'd like you to meet them.

Splat Print is where full color never meets full price. They'll print anything from catalogs to business cards to door hangers, so be sure to check them out when your designs are done.

Faith Highway covers TV commercials, web sites, print media, production and graphics. And right now they're offering free direct mail services or free hosting and streaming until 2009.

There's still room in our advertising network, and we have lots more info for you if you need it.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:36 PM
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May 14, 2008

HOW Design Conference: Design Evangelist

by Michael Buckingham, Guest Blogger

I'm really honored and looking forward to speaking at the HOW Design Conference next week. For those of you who will be there, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at the CFCC session and for those of you not going, maybe it'll give you a reason to attend.

We'll start by looking at the landscape of church marketing, some of our mis-turns, some of the embarrassing excuses and some of the highlights of church marketing. I'll start off with one of the funniest, if misguided, church signs I've seen and offer something the corporate world could actually learn from the church marketing world.

Continue reading "HOW Design Conference: Design Evangelist"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 11:34 AM
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May 9, 2008

Our Don't Suck List Still Sucks

Don't SuckFor those counting--you know who you are--it's been 31 months since our last update about the infamous Don't Suck list. Lots of people have made suggestions publicly on this site, through e-mail and countless conversations offline. I think we've finally blurred the lines enough so that people can't tell the difference between the despicableness of the list itself or of our inaction to actually do something about it. There is no excuse.

I have decided to pull a Ty Pennington (no, I don't plan a drunken arrest) and make this my special project. The bulk of the work will begin in June with a goal to have something launched later this year. Although I will personally take the lead on this project, it will definitely be in the same collaborative spirit we've all been a part of here in the CFCC community.

Here's the plan:

1. There are two layers to this project. The first is a directory of sorts that is more comprehensive. It will be a pre-screened list of go-to people and companies for helping churches communicate. The second layer will be a regularly published "Don't Suck" list that is chosen entirely based on the opinion of the panel behind it. It will be more editorialized which means many will like it and many will hate it. Consider this your warning.

2. There is a post on the CFCC Freelance Lab looking for a web designer/programmer to help build this stuff. If you fit the description, please respond el pronto.

3. If you want to volunteer and be a part of planning/steering this, you can email me: brad [at] cfcclabs dot org. Please put "Don't Suck Volunteer" in the subject line including a brief description for why you want to be a part. If you email me to volunteer it means you will make time to respond to a survey or two and possibly make yourself available for some conference calls, among other related tasks.

4. If you have specific comments that you want to put out there and make sure we're considering, you can also email me: brad [at] cfcclabs dot org. Please put "Don't Suck Comments" in the subject line.

Thanks for your patience and for helping us build this thing right. The Don't Suck list is nearly always in our top ten most most frequented links, and it's one of the most practical things we as the CFCC community can do to help churches beyond what we're already doing through this blog and the labs.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:54 AM
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May 5, 2008

Job Lab and Freelance Lab Roundup

We've seen some good action in our Freelance Lab and Job Lab since our announcement that they're free forever. If you haven't been checking them out, here are some opportunities for you.

Design a worship folder and banner for Concordia Lutheran Church.

Create a wedding booklet for First Baptist Fort Lauderdale.

Or, if you're looking for more full-time work...
The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina is looking for a webmaster and a graphic designer.

Remember, if you're looking to fill a communication-related project or job opening, our Freelance Lab and Job Lab are now completely free.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 2:05 PM
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April 30, 2008

Flickr Goes Video, So Does the Church Marketing Lab

If you haven't heard, Flickr added video capabilities to their photo-sharing site. And if you didn't know, the Church Marketing Lab runs on Flickr. What does that mean to you?

Well it means that while you could always submit graphics and photos to the Church Marketing Lab for review and discussion, now you can submit your church's videos as well. Got a series bumper? A skit? Something else?

hsojeel, a Church Marketing Lab member, explains it a little more deeply.

Keep in mind that video is only for pro users, which is a $25/year upgrade from the free Flickr service.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:08 AM
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April 18, 2008

Local Labs: How it Worked for Tulsa

I'm sure some of you have heard the buzz surrounding Local Labs, and you're even considering getting involved, but it's a little intimidating. What will they do there? Will I be singled out? What if they hate me? Well, have no fear. Kent Shaffer is to the rescue, telling us a little bit about the Tulsa Local Lab:

The first Tulsa Church Communications lab went pretty well. Six people showed up. Four people were staff at churches, and two worked for design and marketing firms. There were graphic designers, web developers, marketers and IT professionals.

Prior to the meeting, we set up a Facebook Page. It helped us get to know each other a little better.

Continue reading "Local Labs: How it Worked for Tulsa"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:06 AM
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April 16, 2008

Job Lab and Freelance Lab: Now 100% More Free

If you haven't been keeping your eyes on the Job Lab and Freelance Lab lately, you might not have noticed a little change in our language. You used to see text that told you postings were free for a limited time while we worked out the kinks. Now, you'll see this:

Post a job: It's free!

That's right, we're now out of beta and into full-speed ahead, and the Job Lab and Freelance Lab are staying free.

So if you have a job opening (designer, marketer, communication pastor, etc.) or need a one-time project done (new logo, new site, rebranding, etc.), then visit our Job Lab or Freelance Lab to post your opening.

Or if you're looking for some work, here's just a small bit of what we've seen recently:

Big thanks to Ekklesia 360 for making these sites happen.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:47 PM
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March 26, 2008

Boston or Bust! (Our HOW Winner is ... )

A special congratulations goes out to Vincent Scatliffe of Decatur, Ga. for his victorious effort in our special Win a Free Trip to HOW contest! Of the first 30 respondents to our call, he was the winner of a random drawing for a full conference pass. On May 18th, he'll be headed to Boston for the HOW Design Conference, and on May 21st, he'll be back to share all his new wisdom with his family, church and CFCC friends.

We do, however, have a special consolation prize if you didn't get drawn for the free pass. Until Friday, you can still get up to $120 off by using the code "CFCC8." Still a pretty sweet deal if you ask us. So head over and register to join Vincent, Michael and the gang at the conference in May!

Godspeed Vincent, don't forget to tell us how things went!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 5:37 AM
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March 19, 2008

Still Time To Win HOW Ticket

If you haven't entered to win the ticket to the HOW Design Conference this May 18-21, you still have a chance you're out of luck--the drawing is now closed. We're going to announce the winner on Tuesday, March 25.

While you're over on the CFCC site, you can also see the announcement of who will be leading the CFCC session at HOW in May.

The deadline for early-bird registration is March 28 and you can save up to $120 if you register before then.

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:03 AM
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March 14, 2008

HOW Church Marketing Sucks

How does church marketing suck? Well, we count the ways on this blog nearly every day. But one way church marketing can suck a little less is by learning from the communications professionals behind How magazine (who included us in an article back in December) and the How Design Conference. The Center for Church Communication--our nonprofit parent--is partnering with HOW.

So what does that mean for you?

  • A special CFCC workshop at the upcoming HOW Design Conference in Boston from May 18-21.
  • You can save up to $120 on your HOW registration.
  • A chance to win a free full-conference pass to the HOW Design Conference.

Check out the CFCC site for more details.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:09 PM
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March 13, 2008

Job Lab Roundup

The Job Lab and Freelance Lab are still going strong in 2008. It's been two months since January; remember that time you resolved to find a new job? Well, don't miss out on some great opportunities we've been seeing.

From the Job Lab ...

And if you're a freelancer looking for opportunities, or if you're looking to outsource a job, don't miss out on our Freelance Lab. It's a great place to go to have a site built, get some print design done or find a writer.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:43 AM
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March 6, 2008

Church Marketing Goes Local

If you're signed up for our monthly e-mail newsletter then you probably already heard the news: We've gone local. The Center for Church Communication (our nonprofit parent) has just launched the Local Labs.

What are the Local Labs? They're local meet ups for church communicators--a chance to connect, share ideas and maybe even commiserate (you're not the only one who has to put up with Comic Sans). They're being organized locally by folks like you. Check out the Local Labs page to learn more, including how to join a group or start your own.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:26 PM
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January 7, 2008

Church Marketing New Year's Resolution

New Year's resolutions never work. Let's face it, you'll probably be too busy to get organized. And somehow chocolate will be the downfall of your diet. So maybe you could join us in a little bit better New Year's resolution this year: Make us change our title.

Church Marketing No Longer Sucks isn't quite as catchy, but it'd be a lot more encouraging. We'd even settle for Church Marketing Kinda Sucks.

Here are some ideas for how you can help church marketing no longer suck in 2008 ...

Continue reading "Church Marketing New Year's Resolution"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:42 AM
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November 30, 2007

Lessons In Not Sucking Wrap-Up

I just finished up the series on "Lessons In Not Sucking." In case you missed it, here is a handy little linked index of each of the topics:

Enjoy!

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:56 AM
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October 29, 2007

Interviews with Bloggers

Apparently press coverage comes in spurts. Last week we were in How magazine, this week Church Marketing Sucks is featured in a series of blogger interviews from Issue Dynamics. You can read the full interview with, um, me, right here.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:11 PM
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October 26, 2007

CMS in How Magazine

If you're flipping through the December 2007 issue of How magazine you might see something familiar--this site. There's a screenshot of Church Marketing Sucks on page 104 in an article about Christian design and marketing. The story includes a few quotes with our own Brad Abare, as well as a few other players who are helping churches and Christian organizations communicate better.

My favorite quote (aside from Brad's, of course), is Rene DeHaan-Canetti, executive director of Nooma:

"You can't separate the design from the content. If it's not consistent, it's detrimental. From the color palette to every single word in our films, we make sure that it's a reflection of our choices."

Bam. Marketing happens and marketing matters.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:39 AM
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October 18, 2007

Church Marketing Sucks Turns 1,000!

It might seem like just a few months ago that CMS turned three. Well, now, we're turning a thousand. That's right, you're officially reading our 1,000th post. We thought of different things we should do to celebrate--a fireworks display, a six-million dollar church marketing grant, the world's largest dance party.

Eventually, we decided to relax and reflect, letting you guys look over our top posts in the past three-plus years. We had some help from the likes of commenters, Google and our own memories, but we think you'll appreciate our final list. Some are sentimental picks, some are controversial picks, but all are pure church marketing goodness.

Without any further ado, here's the 10 shiniest, fanciest, and best posts from the last three years. Actually, they're just our favorites--selected by us.

Continue reading "Church Marketing Sucks Turns 1,000!"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:08 AM
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Your Church Marketing Transformation

This week we celebrate our 1000th post, and we wanted to stick to what we're most passionate about--your church marketing. We get tons of e-mails and questions asking about the possibility of getting a fabled CMS t-shirt. Our store is closed, but we came up with a way for you to pick one up.

We want to know how your church marketing used to suck, but now it doesn't. What happened? Who changed? How did it start? How is the world different now? Let us know what's been going on at your church. There are some simple guidelines for the submissions:

Continue reading "Your Church Marketing Transformation"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:32 AM
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October 17, 2007

Job and Freelance Lab Roundup

If you read us often, you'll know that we love our Job Lab and Freelance Lab. Now as more and more success stories come in, and more and more openings come up, we're as excited as ever. So this is to keep you in the know. Need a quick project so you can have some Christmas cash? Tired of unemployment? We've got your quick fix.

From the Job Lab...

Continue reading "Job and Freelance Lab Roundup"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:46 AM
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October 2, 2007

Don't Be Afraid to Advertise

The Delmarva Daily Times recently discussed church marketing and included our very own Brad Abare. You should check it out.

The article discusses religious leaders choosing "new" ways to advertise. And by new, they particularly focus on billboards. They go into the differences in advertising between Christians, Jews and Muslims, and they even mention the naked pastor. Their main discussion, however, is the increased spending and emphasis on advertising.

Brad has this to say in the article:

"The advertising shift might worry graying members of the church, but the change is essential for the church to stay relevant ... I think we've messed it up in the church over the last couple thousand years. Look, you've got the greatest story ever told and if you hide it, sit on it and just go to church every weekend, you're not doing enough ... Advertise by design, not default. Don't just go along hoping people will get it. Get intentional--that's the challenge."

Read the full article here.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:35 AM
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September 8, 2007

Internet Ministry Conference... You Going?

Last week I mentioned that I will be in Nashville on September 13-14 for MinistryCOM 2007. The week following, on September 19-22, I will be at the Internet Ministry Conference presented by Gospel Communications in Grand Rapids, Mich. It looks like they have a pretty sweet line-up of speakers, so I'm looking forward to learning with everybody. And with registration being closed out already for the event, if you didn't sign-up, you'll have to wait for next year.

As always, if you'll be in Grand Rapids later this month, be sure to say hello!

Posted by Brad Abare at 3:48 PM
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August 30, 2007

MinistryCOM 2007... You Going?

There are only a handful of days until the 2007 MinistryCOM event begins in Nashville. In addition to a bunch of other really cool church communication pros, yours truly has been invited to help temper the tantrums. You gotta have at least one person that "sucks" in the line-up to level the playing field.

If you haven't registered, I hear there are still some spots open. I got an e-mail from Kem Meyer (Granger Comm Guru and Friday afternoon keynote) the other day. She said she was ready with her most brilliant message she's ever delivered in the world, so I'm looking forward to her closing the conference out. I had that same slot last year and the only thing going through your mind is you hope you're not saying something that's already been said, and you hope people aren't thinking they wish they would have booked their flight out early because the last session is a bore.

Actually, Kem was a little more revealing in her e-mail. She doesn't have a clue what she's going to say.

I guess I can't grovel too much, I'm still figuring that out too...

Hope to see you there!

Posted by Brad Abare at 3:55 PM
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August 1, 2007

Job Lab & Freelance Lab Roundup

This week our poll covers the Job Lab and Freelance Lab. Make sure to weigh in on the right side of your computer screen, and check below for the latest listings in the new labs:

Lifechurch.tv is looking for a PHP developer.

There's an opening for a communications director at West End Community Church.

Mariners Church is looking for an outreach graphic designer.

Help Sugar Creek Baptist Church build a website theme.

And that's just a shadow of what's going on in the labs. So make sure you head to the Job Lab and Freelance Labs and check it out!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:28 AM
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July 16, 2007

Job Lab & Freelance Lab Roundup

Our Job Lab and Freelance Lab are still going strong, and we wanted to make sure all you churches and communicators are effectively connecting, so here's a reminder and a little tip to what's been going on in our newest Labs:

Do you fit the bill? Do you have a friend who could do the job? Help us help the church, and get connected! Click on over to our Job Lab and Freelance Lab to see just what's going on.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:47 PM
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New to the CFCC Ad Network

This month, we are pleased to welcome three new additions to the CFCC Ad Network:

The Internet Ministry Conference
Training to improve your online ministry.

Outreach Cinema
Engage your community with feature films!

Power2Show Media Player
Use Power2Show to announce activities/events.

We're grateful for the support of these advertisers and the CFCC community.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:21 AM
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June 21, 2007

Ask a Kevin

If you've been around Church Marketing Sucks for a while you probably know the name Kevin D. Hendricks. He's our chief blogger and the labs director for our nonprofit parent, the Center for Church Communication.

Lately, however, there haven't been as many original posts from Kevin as he spends more time fixing my mistakes, juggling behind-the-scenes projects and dating his wife (I made that up, but I hope he can find the time). In a previous post, he called out creative thinkers and asked, "Where's the Church's 'Ask A Ninja?'" Well, I don't know where it is, or if it is, but I thought it might be time to present an interview with our chief blogger, Ask a Kevin.

Continue reading "Ask a Kevin"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:16 AM
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May 25, 2007

Job and Freelance Lab Roundup

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Ready for a change in the day-to-day? Well we're here to help. Our Job Lab and Freelance Project Lab are still going strong, and here's a little bit of what's been going on this week:

Living Word Church needs some help designing a new logo.

An opening has come up for a web developer at WorshipHouse Media

Continue reading "Job and Freelance Lab Roundup"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:00 AM
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May 11, 2007

Job and Freelance Labs: In The Beginning...

In the beginning, there were jobs. And projects. And they were free. You surely heard about the launch of our Job Lab and Freelance Lab, but maybe you haven't been so bold as to venture over and check them out. For those timid visitors, here are some samplings of what we've seen in the short life of the new labs:

High Desert Church in Victorville, Calif. is looking for a communications director.

There's an opening for a webmaster at Eagle Brook Church in Minnesota.

Continue reading "Job and Freelance Labs: In The Beginning..."

Posted by Joshua Cody at 11:59 AM
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May 7, 2007

Job Lab & Freelance Lab Now Open

Churches looking to fill marketing and communications positions or find help with short-term projects have a new place to go. Our non-profit parent, the Center for Church Communication, has just launched new job posting and freelance project sites, the Job Lab and Freelance Lab. Churches in need of marketing help can list job openings and post their needs for freelance projects.

For a limited time all listings are free while we work out the kinks, so head on over and post your job or freelance project today.

And of course this means all the creative professionals out there eager to help the church have a new place to go as well. If you're looking for a job helping churches communicate--check out the Job Lab for the latest listings and details for how to apply. If you do freelance work and want to help church marketing not suck, check the latest listings in the Freelance Lab and contact the churches directly. Both sites have RSS feeds so you can easily track what's new.

We're excited to see the latest CFCC offering roll out and offer another way to help the church matter. And the sites do work. One of our early listings had four responses in the first four days--before we really had a chance to get the word out.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:04 PM
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April 23, 2007

Meet Joshua Cody, CFCC Intern

You may have noticed the name "Joshua Cody" showing up on a ton of entries lately. Just who is this guy? Glad you asked. He's our intern and has been stepping up in a major way to keep us moving towards our goal of helping the church matter.

Unfortunately he's on the opposite side of the country, so his ability to make donut runs is limited. But he makes up for it with plenty of ideas and hard work. Check out our Q&A with Joshua over at the CFCC blog and get to know our intern.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:10 AM
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March 27, 2007

Church Marketing Lab LIVE!

by Michael Buckingham, Guest Blogger

Just received some exciting news from the folks at MinistryCOM, I will be hosting the first ever Church Marketing Lab LIVE! at the conference in Nashville, Tenn. Sept. 13-14. It's a chance to put some flesh on the Church Marketing Lab.

Church Marketing Lab LIVE! is an interactive forum/workshop that allows attendees to bring in current and past marketing communications for critique and comment by both a panel of some of the Church Marketing Lab's brightest and encourage a group discussion with the purpose of bettering the communication piece. Church Marketing Lab LIVE! will give attendees something to implement immediately upon returning from MinistryCOM.

I'm hoping this will be a great time of extending the lab into face to face conversation and dig a bit deeper into some of your marketing communications. As we've not done this with the lab before, I'd love to get your input and thoughts on the event.

Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:45 PM
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March 22, 2007

Squidoo Likes Us!

Squidoo thinks we deserve to be on its user-ranked Lens of the Year list. For the moment the Church Marketing Sucks lens is sitting at #16, between Tea Junkie and Make Your Own Fairy Wings.

For those of you unsure of how Squidoo works, check it out on Wikipedia. Essentially, you create a lens that gives people a view into, well, whatever you want. For us, it's Church Marketing Sucks (and innovative churches). For others, its fairy wings. We've also covered how you can use Squidoo for your church and you can also support CMS with Squidoo.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:40 AM
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February 14, 2007

Stopping the Comment Spam

We've instituted a new measure to fight comment spam. When you post a comment you'll be asked to type a word to verify that you're a real person commenting and not some spambot. We know it's a hassle, but we needed to find a better solution to cut down on our maintenance and keep junk off the site.

We're still perfecting the system, so currently the comment preview feature isn't working. Hopefully we'll have it firing on all cylinders soon.

Thanks for your patience.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:48 AM
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January 29, 2007

National New Church Conference

01_27_2007NNCC.jpgIn April I will be tag-teaming with the one and only Mark Batterson for a pre-conference session at the National New Church Conference in Orlando, Fla. The pre-conference track is about creative communications in the church.

In addition, I will be tag-teaming a workshop on Tuesday with creative guru Drew Goodmanson tentatively titled "Get the Word Out! What Every Church Planter Needs to Know About Communication."

If you're a church planter, I'd encourage you to get to Orlando April 23-26, 2007. The conference is loaded with great topics and communicators who want to help. If you know of church planters who should be there, send them the details and a little cash to help cover their way!

You can register here.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:22 AM
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