#Smart TV Market Industry

[lenalvthor]

hey i have a fucking bone to pick with sapphic fandoms

like, i get it okay. i've been on tumblr since 2011, i was in the trenches during the bury your gays nightmare, i grew up on buffy, i watched the 100, i've been through the furious and devastating queerbaits, and i've watched helplessly as the boom of proper progress with sapphic rep has burned and disappeared with the faults of the industry as it is rn and the resurgence of bury your gays in the form of tv cancellations

i even did a fucking guest lecture for a film & tv university course a couple years ago on all of this

we joke about the fact that queer (specifically sapphic) fans flock to any show with the barest hint of rep in it because we're so starved for it, and we talk about the fact that if nothing else, that proves that there's a market and an audience and it usually creates a huge wave of viewership and attention for the show

but i need to fucking point out: acting as though a show exists for the sole purpose of the sapphic relationship you've started watching it for is fucking detrimental to how you'll perceive the show, how it'll get talked about in fandom spaces and then beyond that (bc the line between fandom spaces and wider online discussion of media is a lot thinner than it was ten years ago) and isn't actually going to do any good for sapphic rep! like, at all! because guess what! unless you're watching a show where the entire storyline revolves around romance, this couple you're watching for ISN'T going to be the centre of the story! it's a part of it! and there's such a weird fucking entitled toxicity to how fans act around brilliant storytelling and worldbuilding and writing and characters throwing tantrums about not getting more screentime for the relationship they like because they don't actually care about any other part of the story. and the thing about people who watch something solely for a ship rather than the wider story it exists in, is that a lot of the time, you'll fundamentally misinterpret the characters and their dynamic because you're not taking any of the wider context of the world and story into account at all.

and yes, of course i'm talking about agatha all along in the immediacy. because we knew a long, long time ago that billy maximoff was gonna be an integral part of this story, long before we knew anything about what the vibe of this show was gonna be, long before anyone even had the tiniest whisper of rio's existence. the same way wandavision was monica rambeau's origin story even though the show was wanda's, we suspected that agatha all along would be billy's/wiccan's origin story even if the show focused on agatha. and you know fucking what. that's good fucking storytelling. this show is smart, it's funny, it's curious, it's campy, it's queer, and it's ensemble. that's always been the point. agatha and rio were a delightfully unexpected part of it that added such delicious tension and phenomenal sapphic rep, but you know what else! the point of that dynamic is to flesh out agatha's character! this show isn't about agatha and rio! it's about agatha and billy, who they are, how their pasts and their magic are connected, their traumas and their power and how the road shapes their futures! rio is a part of exploring agatha's past, and it's phenomenal, but i am so fucking bewildered by the ridiculousness of people's reactions to billy now having a bigger part in the story and there being less focus on agatha and rio. you do know that you write scenes and characters and stories in a way that makes sense right? that because of the nature of this show, even if we don't get more than a handful agatha and rio scenes for the rest of the episodes, they're both still sapphic characters, this is still wonderful sapphic rep, and this show is still very, very queer?

like, it's obviously not fair that we have to beg for scraps to have queer shows to watch. but that doesn't mean that any of us get to do such a fucking disservice to the people who make amazing shows and fight to put sapphic rep in them within the contexts of the stories they're telling by whining that it's not enough. what we're getting with agatha all along, what kathryn han and aubrey plaza and jac schaeffer have said with such grace and nuance and intrigue and depth about agatha and rio's relationship, is so fucking rare! and it's nestled within a story that's got so much other intricate storytelling that makes agatha and rio richer characters when you actually pay some fucking attention and care about who they are outside of their sexual tension!

and i'm saying this because this is an issue i see with So many other shows, where the worth of a show gets boiled down to fandoms wanting content of their ship and nothing else and then poisoning the conversation and reception around what else it is that show is doing with its story. idk get some fucking media literacy, grow up and respect artists and creatives.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Someday when I have a more consistent schedule I really do wanna have a YouTube channel. And I’ve wondered about sponsorships. I’ve gotten offers on this very blog before to participate in one of those stupid ads for drop shipping crystals that project your birth sign or whatever that I’ve turned down.

I’ve wondered though. Because on one hand sponsors pay good money and money is a thing that is required to live in this day and age. But also I feel like if I ever took a sponsor nobody could ever fully and completely trust my opinion on anything again.

There’s this YouTuber I love whose channel is called Swell Entertainment. And she comes across as being very honest but also she takes sponsorships. And a big part of her channel is review content. So sometimes I wonder if she’s pulling her punches slightly because she still wants to be marketable. But I don’t hold that against her because she’s living in LA for god’s sake and sponsorships provide much more reliable income than other methods.

It’s kinda sad that advertisement is almost required to make a living creating internet content.

I pay for YouTube premium not just because I wanted to get rid of ads on my smart tv, but because creators get more money per view from YouTube premium subscribers. I can’t afford to subscribe to a dozen patreons but I can afford one cheap subscription.

I hope if I ever have a channel big enough to have sponsorships I either take them extremely rarely for stuff I actually care about or don’t take them at all. Because I want to be able to just have opinions about stuff openly. But the sad truth is that money can be an issue. So. Who knows? I certainly don’t hold it against people who take sponsorships. That’s just how the industry works nowadays. They need money to live. And if you have adhd which many creative types do contractual deadlines can really help you get stuff done. And sponsors can get you experiences like vacations and luxury hotel stays and free reviewer copies of books and video games. Who can blame them? There’s so much stuff available to you from sponsors that can improve your quality of life and help you make your business better. Money to hire editors and voice actors and writers and animators, buy better equipment, rent out a sound stage.

But. Idk. A lot of those sponsored products aren’t that good. And a lot of people are susceptible to advertising. It works on a lot of people. Especially when it comes from a face they trust.

The tradeoff to take sponsors or not is a difficult one. Honestly and truly. And it’s very probable that I’ll never be popular enough to actually have to make a decision on these things. But I still think about it every time I see a sponsored segment. What levels of calculation have gone into that? None? A lot? I’ll never be allowed to know because that would be bad for business.

[accio-victuuri]

Exclusive interview with Wang Yibo: Maintain a sincere heart丨"War of Faith" hits the airwaves

Since its launch on CCTV 8 in late March, the contemporary youth growth drama "War of Faith", directed by Yao Xiaofeng and written by Weng Liangping, starring Wang Yibo, Li Qin, Wang Yang and others, has been performing well in recent days. The show topped the CVB prime-time ratings the day after it aired. The real-time ratings of Kuyun peaked at 2, and the popularity on iQiyi exceeded 9,600. The ratings are both good. The male protagonist Wei Ruolai, played by young actor Wang Yibo, is also loved by the audience for his smart, intelligent and righteous character.

"He is very passionate, has a sense of justice, is persistent and brave in his work. Even when facing the dark social reality, Wei Ruolai still maintains a sincere heart and wants to change the social status quo through his own efforts." Wang Yibo accepted the Liberation Daily Exclusive interview with a reporter from Shangguan News, explaining what "Wei Ruolai" is in his eyes.

At the beginning of the TV series, there is an assassination, a rescue, and a stock market game. The plot advances on multiple parallel lines, but they contain inextricable connections. "War of Faith" is set in Shanghai in the 1930s. It adopts a novel narrative incision and starts from the perspective of the financial industry. It embeds the storyline on the real historical picture of Shanghai and depicts Shanghai from 1929 to 1934. A scene filled with smoke and silent struggle. This makes the social turmoil in a specific historical period and the intrigue on the financial front in the play cleverly form an intertextuality.

From the character setting point of view, Wei Ruolai is a character with obvious growth meaning. In the complicated political, economic and social environment of Shanghai at that time, Wei Ruolai, as a young man who bravely came to Shanghai from the Jiangxi countryside, rented in Qibao Street, a mixed and dilapidated place. His initial wish was just to be admitted to the Central Bank and have a good job. income. Wang Yibo revealed that what impressed him about the role of Wei Ruolai was his charisma. This ideal and belief in taking family and country as one's own responsibility, as well as the unique passionate feelings of young people, are the character traits that Wang Yibo admires.

As a young man from a poor family who left his hometown to work in Shanghai, Wei Ruolai showed great personal talent in the financial field. Whether he is helping his neighbor Aunt Zhou on Qibao Street to trade stocks, or being fearless in the face of fire during the central bank exam, the character's agility and human touch are all reflected. When Wei Ruolai got up early to rush to the central bank for an interview, her pair of torn socks, her leather shoes that "gathered dust" under the bed, and her slightly messy hairstyle in the mirror all gave the scenes in the play a sense of life.

In Wang Yibo's view, Wei Ruolai was just like the young people of that era. Although he initially regarded his career as a job that could earn more money to support his family, he had his own ideals and ambitions in his heart. This can be seen from his bent on joining the central bank. "In the context of the times, he was eager to create value through his own efforts on the best financial platform, improve people's livelihood, and make society better."

"War of Faith" adopts a two-line parallel narrative structure. One line is a financial war without gunpowder, and the other is a thrilling spy war drama. In the workplace where the central bank is the stage, the new senior adviser Shen Tunan (played by Wang Yang) plays the role of Wei Ruolai's master and becomes his guide on the career path. Shen Tunan is both good and evil, and he wants to promote Shanghai's financial reform, and he does not hesitate to take risks with his own life. Shen Tunan's sister Shen Jinzhen (played by Li Qin) and Wei Ruolai's brother Wei Ruochuan are both underground members of the Communist Party of China. In the dark current situation, they disregard their personal lives for the cause of the party. Therefore, these important characters surrounding Wei Ruolai constituted his dilemma in social situation, and also laid the foundation for Wei Ruolai and Shen Tunan to part ways.

Wang Yibo feels that Shen Tunan plays an important role in Wei Ruolai's professional and personal growth. "Wei Ruolai, who had just entered the workplace and had no work experience, just rushed forward with momentum and persistence. Therefore, he admired Shen Tunan very much and once regarded him as the direction of his life's efforts. The two of them also learned from each other in the process of getting along."

But as Wei Ruolai received more and more attention, the corruption within the Kuomintang was exposed in front of him. Inspired by the people around him, Wei Ruolai and Shen Tunan eventually embarked on completely different paths of faith. "After experiencing a series of changes such as investigating the counterfeit currency case and treasury bills, he witnessed the darkness and corruption of the current situation, and realized that he needed to change the status quo of the country and fight for the people. Therefore, the sense of opposition between his master and his faith made him once I lost confidence in Shen Tunan, who was once a like-minded person, and eventually embarked on a different path of faith, but Shen Tunan has always been Wei Ruolai's guide"

Director Yao Xiaofeng once said in an interview that he chose Wang Yibo to play the role because he saw many similarities between the two. "I saw something in Wang Yibo. I felt that this story should be filmed as a small character who came to a big city to develop, and then accidentally got involved in a bloody storm and fell into a battle between two forces that were beyond his power. , let him hesitate, let him make a choice."

In one scene, his brother Wei Ruochuan was betrayed by his companions. After searching for Wei Ruolai in Shanghai, he eventually died due to excessive blood loss. In this scene, Wang Yibo performed Wei Ruolai's pain and fear. After his brother died, Wei Ruolai had no time to grieve and buried his brother in pain overnight. "In such a terrifying period, if you have a Communist brother, you have to be screened, and the first thing you will definitely bring is fear. I was very impressed by Wang Yibo in this scene, and the whole audience applauded (after filming)." Yao Xiaofeng said. In Wang Yibo's eyes, Yao Xiaofeng is a director who pays great attention to details. "He is more of a good guide to the actors in terms of performance. He will let me use my own real experiences and feelings to understand the character's current emotions, allowing the actors to perform the performance more closely to life."

In real life, Wang Yibo likes racing. When a reporter asked which scene in "War of Faith" was the most fun, his answer was a bit unexpected but reasonable. "The most fun thing was riding a motorcycle from that era." As for what themes or roles he wants to challenge in the future, his answer is also very open, "I want to try them all, and have a sense of freshness."

[that-left-turn]

I really want to like your blog. You have these long posts that appear thoughtful. But what I also notice is your unwillingness to call the caryl stuff what it is. The fandom , which I’m apart of, is dying. Not because of amc or people who love that other ship. It’s because we believed in actors and chemistry that doesn’t have legs. The actual actors do not support us. The actual show runners and writers do not support us. We are grasping at straws to support something that doesn’t really exist. Whining and acting like toddlers instead of staying in our area and enjoying what we have. When they had Carol marry Ezekiel I had to call bs and let it go. This is not Valhalla or amc or richonne, it’s us not being willing to admit we saw something that will never be canon. Why can’t we be happy with what we have? You seem smart and I started following you recently because of that but we need to have some reality about us now because we are fighting ghosts and we look stupid. Carol could have married Daryl instead of Ezekiel or sleeping with Tobin 🤮 Daryl could have stayed to watch over the kids with Carol. We need to stop letting twd make us look stupid for trailing us along. And we keep letting them do it.

My perspective on Caryl is rooted in how these things are handled by studios and the productions. There are a lot of instances that want a say regarding what couple goes canon and when, and more than one factor as to why. I agree with you that the fandom is dying and that the "people who love that other ship" isn't the cause, but it's not because Caryl's chemistry wasn't there.

I'll run down the main points of my reasoning:

The industry has changed a lot since the start of TWD. AMC is a basic cable network, which means their traditional means of revenue are ad sales and syndication. Certain rules were observed regarding the main/big ships of the shows that existed in that market space and Caryl is a product of those parameters. The relationships from this programming era were teased endlessly to have people tune in from week to week and the general assumption was that the audience would lose interest once the couple went canon. Also, because episodes aired out of order in syndication, it was normal to try and preserve the status quo from episode to episode.

Daryl is an original character for the TV show, so AMC outright owns the rights to him. That's why he is the most marketed/promoted character—because they stood to profit the most from him. Male (romantic) leads are not written the same way anymore that was true for the early seasons of TWD. They were supposed to be unattainable and most often emotionally unavailable for one reason or another, so the show could maintain what was seen as the core story engine.

AMC is deeply steeped in a white male business culture. (The Dolans are essentially the Roy family from Succession.) As we've seen on TWD, the female characters are by and large irrelevant, interchangeable and something to be pitted against each other unlike their male counterparts. The execs thought they'd draw female viewers by promoting Daryl as the Bachelor of the Apocalypse, especially as he couldn't be paired up with the end-game ship.

Scott M. Gimple is a petty vicious little man.

"The writers" are innocent in all this. They can and often do have their own opinions, but they're not in charge of what happens to a ship. That's a negotiation between the showrunner and the studio. Changes in showrunner changes the vision of the show. Most often because the studio wants that change but sometimes because the showrunner touched someone in ways that are inappropriate. The writers are the Greek chorus: they're not individuals per se, they mimic the voice of the showrunner.

Unless the actors have gone on record somewhere (against the terms of their NDAs) on whether they support a ship or not, assumptions on the topic are subjective. One way or the other.

Ezekiel and Tobin were part of Carol's character arc. Tobin had the same body type that Ed did, so he was a step in Carol reclaiming her sexuality and like Ezekiel, it goes to show the level of control she needs over her intimate partnerships. However, there were also BTS reasons for those choices, which had to do with Gimple's vision for the show. And, Daryl couldn't stay to watch over the kids with Carol because he was headed for the spinoff.

The original Carol and Daryl spinoff was pitched by Josh Sapan who was the AMC Networks CEO (the big boss) at the time. He was aware that there was money to be made by marketing a show about these two characters, otherwise he wouldn't have pushed for it. The intention was for canon Caryl in the spinoff, but due to backstage maneuverings, the showrunner got fired, the concept was revised and "the other lead" was forced out.

Any fan who's happy and enjoying what they have, should continue to do so. I'm not arguing with anyone's feelings on the matter. Just like I think fans who aren't happy have the right to tell AMC what they will pay for; it's a negotiation of a business transaction. I have zero faith in Zabel and Nicotero was the point person for most of TBOC due to the WGA strike, so viewers should go into the situation with their eyes open regardless of their personal preferences.

Personally, I want canon because that's the payoff for how both Carol and Daryl's character arcs have been written—they mirror each other and their joint emotional arc has been romantically coded since the start. Promotion hasn't kicked off yet and I need to hear what TPTB say and, more importantly, what they don't to make an informed decision on what I think.

[dmslinux]

Simplifying IPTV Channel Navigation with XMLTV Viewer

Indeed, owning the newest mobile devices like smart TV, can entirely transform how you enjoy TV programs and keep up to date with your favorite shows. With the progress in technology, it's now exceedingly simple to obtain a precise and comprehensive TV program guide straight from your own hands.

Choose a Compatible XMLTV Service Provider

To begin with, if you own a smart TV or Android TV, you're already at a benefit. These devices frequently come with incorporated program guides that allow you to surf channels and see what’s currently being aired and what's up next. This function alone can spare you the annoyance of having to single out through numerous channels to find something you want to watch.

However, if you seek something even more progressive and thorough, you could explore using the best xmltv channel list on your mobile devices explicitly constructed to boost your TV-watching experience.

For instance, there are mobile applications available for both iOS and Android that deliver elaborate TV program guides with attributes such as customized suggestions, alerts for upcoming shows, and even the option to set recordings from a distance.

Accurate and up-to-date TV program information

A prevalent choice is to employ streaming apparatuses like Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, or Google Chromecast. These gadgets frequently come with their own unique mobile applications that not only enable you to govern your TV viewing experience but also dispense detailed program guides and recommendations tailored to your viewing preferences.

Easy Navigation and Search Options for Finding your Favorite Shows

Beyond this, if you're a person who prefers taking an active role and desires total control over your TV program guide, you might seek new resources through online blogging platforms and streaming website providing sources in the latest technological advancements in movie and entertainment industry. These resources are beneficial to those movie lovers who owns smart TV and other tech gadgets available in the market today, so they can access to xmltv program guides, TV program schedules, and even the capability to hunt for specific shows or genres without moving a muscle.

In conclusion, there are several ways to make sure you have an accurate information at your fingertips, whether it be through integrated program guides, the newest mobile apps, or voice-activated digital assistants.

Our relationship with TV programs has been truly altered by the combination of mobile TV, Web TV, and other movie streaming platforms. You may improve the experience of watching TV and ensure that you never miss your favorite episodes by utilizing these technologies.

[softwaredevelopmentindia-one]

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Revolutionizing Television with TV Application Development The television industry is undergoing a transformation, with digital platforms and OTT services changing the way content is consumed. Microlent's TV application development service is tailored to meet this new wave of demand. By focusing on user experience, Microlent helps content providers, telecoms, and OTT platforms deliver applications that are intuitive, engaging, and accessible across devices, ensuring content reaches viewers worldwide in the most effective manner possible.

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[tinyozlion]

Addressing the Troubles: Part 3 / 3

English Dubs and the Early Years of Figuring Out Anime:

Back in the 00’s, the television industry was still figuring out anime. At the time, there was still a general prevailing attitude in North America that cartoons on TV were for children– even the more “mature” cartoons of the 90's like Batman: The Animated Series, Reboot, Gargoyles (actually, the Gargoyles voice acting fuckin' ruled), Beast Wars, etc., as a loose tendency, were the realm of bombastic voices and over-the-top, scenery-chewing performances. And god bless those performances! Where would we be as a nation, as a culture, if not for Mark Hamill’s Skeletor, his Joker? 

But this approach was less suited for dubbing anime. Sure, if you put that kind of sauce on a Sailor Moon villain, or a fun little DBZ alien guy, it works out okay! But it falls apart when you get to the serious stuff, and even the average 90’s goofball anime had *serious stuff*. When those moments weren’t given the requisite amount of sobriety, the dub very quickly became a disservice to the spirit of the original, and even young audiences could tell. 

Different studios took different approaches of course, and some of them caught on more quickly than others-- but in a large number of cases, the Japanese voice acting was just guaranteed to be better. They had an industry of professionals that took that job very, very seriously, and for the most part Western shows hadn’t gotten that degree of legitimacy yet.

There's a massive divide between Japanese and English drama-- separated not just by language, but by hundreds of years of theatrical traditions that share no common ancestor. There are whole character archetypes we don't have a direct equivalent for in the West, levels of intonation that don't translate, portrayals of sexuality and gender expression that we had no cultural context for, types of dramatic timing we had no idea what to do with for a couple decades. North American television studios simply didn’t have enough experience with those cultural and theatrical differences to handle the conversion well. There are plenty of famous examples of early dubs trying and failing to find substitutes for Japanese terms, idioms, honorifics, foods (“donut” from “onigiri”, and so forth).

These were the years when the “dub vs. sub” war had any kind substance to it– because kids, you only got to buy whatever language was on the VHS tape that Suncoast or Blockbuster was selling. And if you didn’t show up for the subbed version of an anime, the less likely you were to ever get it. DVD’s, with their selectable audio options and subtitle tracks, were still on the horizon. 

This is also why fan-subs started showing up, because the kids were smart and wanted a better understanding of their favorite shows; they were fed up with these butchered attempts at localization. “All according to *keikaku… *Keikaku means: Plan” is hilarious in retrospect, but it was proof that you could show new words and concepts to English-speaking audiences, and they would learn and appreciate them rather than changing the channel. Fans were dedicated enough to the source material that they were doing this shit themselves– literally making blurry VHS copies with their dubs and distributing them like mix-tapes. It created an underground fan culture of anime in the USA that became a substantive market for less tampered-with Japanese media, and I don’t know what the media landscape would look like today if that hadn’t happened.

--Voice actors work with what they're given; sometimes, that’s limited to just what’s in the script of the day, and in the early years of American localization, it would probably NOT have included any background from an untranslated manga, or the original director’s notes, or from cultural inference that was lost on unfamiliar Western listeners at the time.  So they’d be left to their own devices when it came to choosing character voice and intonation and what to do with pauses and interjections, and they’d be doing it without the benefit of the original cultural framework or context from the adapted source material. Then of course, there is the ubiquitous challenge of ADR: matching syllables to lip-flaps and the timing of a given scene, which I can only imagine has improved with more modern software.

All this lead to some memorably wild and incongruous readings that today strain belief, are unintentionally humorous, or in worst cases, ruin a scene. 

--This is the landscape we find ourselves in with early dubs. One's expectations must be modified to suit the medium and the times. It's all part of the challenge, the experience, the charm, the je-ne-sais-que of early dubs. It is the spice of life. Sometimes we all need a weird little background guy with a stupid voice to say the dumbest shit you ever heard. I find joy in this.

The English localization team on Gundam Wing was working with a very limited crew; almost everyone pulled double duty, and most “additional voices" are just the main actors wearing different hats. This led to some real big swings with the one-off character voices– because there are only so many ways to shout “IT’S A GUNDAM!”, and sometimes you gotta put some extra mustard on OZ Grunt #47 so you can tell him apart from OZ Grunt #46.

They were trying their very hardest to make it seem like there were more than twelve people inhabiting the universe, and the results… were mixed. But the effort was admirable.

My Humble Defense of the English Dub:

Okay so listen-- I’m not gonna force anyone to listen to the English dub. Your mileage and tolerance for all of the dislocated strangeness and over-the-topness mentioned above may vary. And obviously, the original Japanese audio has artistic authenticity and charisma of its own.

-- SO ALL I’M GONNA SAY IS: if you tap out early, you’re gonna miss out on some of the rawest, coolest, emotionally pitch-perfect deliveries of all time.

Brian Drummond is absolutely heart-stopping as Zechs; it’s one of my favorite VA performances of all time. Enuka Okuma is by turns a chilling, ferocious, and sympathetic Lady Une. Mark Hildreth’s Heero Yuy conceals a depth of nuance and attention to detail beneath his superficial monotone. Kirby Morrow’s Trowa is a well of quiet empathy, his stoicism sometimes the vehicle for a tinder-dry sense of humor. Lisa Ann Beley as Relena runs the full dramatic range between naivety, to heartbreak, to conviction. Saffron Henderson’s Noin has a smoky sensuality that overlays her formidable competence, and moments of incredibly touching vulnerability. Michael Dobson’s cold eloquence as Duke Dremail brings the amount of aristocratic dignity and arrogance needed to lend legitimacy to the Romefeller Foundation and its terrifying power. And of course, Scott McNeil as Duo is utterly indispensable, a bright, bouncing point of contrast in a grim troupe, with the deftness of touch to deliver glimpses into the nihilism, the weary kindness, that his up-beat attitude belies. 

I could continue to embarrass myself and go on this way about the whole cast. I love the English dub very much-- I also, truly, deeply, understand that it is wacky as hell. But I still believe it's worth grinning and bearing the NPCs and occasional dud lines to get to the good stuff. And sometimes, honestly, the good stuff IS the wacky stuff.

 Side note: a fun game I like to play is Spot That Voice Actor! Take a drink every time you identify one of the main cast in a secret, secondary role! Take a drink every time you catch one of them putting some extra English on an unnamed character who dies immediately after they speak! Expire from alcohol poisoning by episode 20! Example: Did you know that Brian Drummond voiced both Zechs AND Doctor G? Now you know! And you can't unknow it! Ha ha! I've done this to you!

[dhivyaakumar]

Become a Digital Marketing Pro: Learn the Basics NOW!

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital Marketing refers to the marketing of products and services of a company or business through digital channels such as search engines, websites, email, social media, mobile apps, etc. It involves the use of electronic devices and the internet. Digital marketing is often referred to as online marketing, internet marketing or web marketing.

Digital marketing mainly comprises Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Optimization (SMO), and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). We can say that it can be divided into three parts SEO, SMO, and SEM. However, Email Marketing and Affiliate Marketing have also become important components of digital marketing over the past few years. So, in digital marketing, we mainly deal with the following components:

SEO

SMO

SEM

Email Marketing

Affiliate Marketing

Why choose Digital Marketing?

Non-Digital Marketing, which is the traditional means of marketing, includes the usage of physical means of marketing. These are generally in the form of physical prints such as posters, flyers, newspaper advertisements, and billboards. Even at the first glance, it is quite apparent why almost every business is choosing to get into Digital Marketing.

The primary and the most fundamental reasoning for this is the amount of reach that is possible with it. There are smart devices everywhere, from televisions, laptops, computers, and tablets to smartphones. Even cars have smart systems enabled in them where you can access the Internet. All of these facilities present a blank canvas for advertising your brand.

How does Digital Marketing work?

There are two ways in which Digital Marketing is implemented by brands and businesses:

B2C (Business to Customer)

B2B (Business to Business)

B2C (Business to Customer):

When a brand or a company has to sell a product or service to individual customers. In fact, 95 percent of the time, the ads and marketing that you see online are examples of B2C campaigns, e.g., an ad for a candy bar, a promotional video for a safety razor, or a movie trailer. All of these marketing efforts are targeting individual consumers and not organizations.

B2B (Business to Business):

B2B is conducted for very specific products. You wouldn’t generally see B2B products being advertised on platforms with traffic from the everyday crowd. These marketing campaigns are low profile, professional, and in most cases, marketed directly (or pitched) to the client. This client can be a small business or a corporate giant. We can take heavy-duty cooking machinery used in big fast-food restaurants as an example. What would be the point of running a TV ad for an industry-level chimney? None. This sort of marketing is done through B2B-specialized salesmen who use custom-made marketing material, PowerPoint presentations, and word of mouth to pitch their product.

Not surprisingly, billions of marketing dollars spent on traditional channels is already starting to shift to digital marketing campaigns and this will continue to increase as the Web matures.

[atosibairagi]

The Importance of Digital Marketing for our Business

Digital marketing is crucial for businesses in today's digital age. It offers numerous benefits that can help your business grow, increase its visibility, and connect with your target audience. Here are some key reasons why digital marketing is important for your business:

Wider Reach: Digital marketing allows you to reach a global audience. With the internet, you can connect with potential customers across the world, expanding your market beyond geographical boundaries.

Cost-Effective: Compared to traditional marketing methods like TV or print advertising, digital marketing is often more cost-effective. You can allocate your budget more efficiently and target specific demographics, reducing wastage.

Measurable Results: Digital marketing provides data and analytics tools that enable you to measure the performance of your campaigns in real-time. You can track website traffic, conversion rates, click-through rates, and other key metrics to evaluate your marketing efforts' effectiveness.

Targeted Marketing: Digital marketing allows you to segment your audience and create highly targeted campaigns. You can reach people based on their interests, demographics, behavior, and more. This ensures that your marketing messages are relevant to your audience, increasing the chances of conversion.

Personalization: Personalization is a key trend in digital marketing. You can tailor your content and offers to individual users based on their past interactions with your brand. This personalized approach enhances user experience and fosters customer loyalty.

Brand Visibility: A strong online presence is essential in today's competitive business landscape. Digital marketing helps improve your brand's visibility through SEO, social media, and content marketing, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

Real-Time Engagement: Social media and email marketing enable real-time engagement with your audience. You can respond to customer inquiries, address concerns, and provide valuable information promptly, building trust and rapport.

Flexibility and Adaptability: Digital marketing campaigns can be easily adjusted and optimized in real-time. If a particular strategy isn't working, you can make changes quickly, ensuring that your marketing efforts are always aligned with your goals.

Competitive Advantage: Many of your competitors are likely already using digital marketing. By investing in digital marketing strategies, you can stay competitive or even gain a competitive edge in your industry.

Global 24/7 Presence: Your digital marketing efforts continue to work for you around the clock. While traditional marketing has time limitations, your online presence is always accessible to potential customers.

Data-Driven Decision Making: Digital marketing provides valuable data and insights that can inform your business decisions. You can use this data to refine your marketing strategies, improve products or services, and better understand customer preferences.

Easier Scaling: As your business grows, digital marketing can easily scale with it. You can expand your reach, budget, and campaigns to accommodate your growing customer base.

In conclusion, digital marketing is not just important; it's essential for the success and growth of businesses in the digital age. It offers a cost-effective, measurable, and highly targeted way to connect with your audience, build brand awareness, and drive conversions. To stay competitive and thrive in today's business landscape, embracing digital marketing is a smart move.

[mariacallous]

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is striking against studios in pursuit of a new contract that lets writers participate more fully in the industry. The central disagreements are about economics, but the issue that has captured the most public attention is the threat posed by so-called artificial intelligence—products like ChatGPT—to the livelihood of creative professionals, including writers.

ChatGPT is a generative AI program that has been trained on a massive corpus of text to predict the word or words that should follow a text prompt or word string. It is not intelligent, though its user interface has been designed to create that illusion.

Studios perceive that generative AI is a tool they can use against writers. Some kinds of programming can be formulaic—awards shows and sitcoms, for example—which encourages writers to mimic scripts that have been successful in the past. In theory, a well-constructed generative AI could provide a first draft of such a script. But studio executives have gone one step further, imagining that products like ChatGPT will transform the writing process for everything from awards shows to feature films. Studios see this as both a potential cost savings and a way to convert script writing from copyrightable work to work for hire.

It is almost certain that they will embrace generative AI, even if it produces nothing but junk, which is what they will get. They have drunk the Kool-Aid poured by Silicon Valley’s hype merchants.

My experience working in Hollywood—as a consultant on Silicon Valley for five seasons and through involvement in documentaries like The Facebook Dilemma, The Social Dilemma, and The Great Hack—has led me to believe that if studios are smart, they will understand that their interests are aligned with those of writers, directors, and all creative people. Silicon Valley is coming for their profit margin.

CEOs believe that generative AI will reduce their labor costs. What they are missing is that Silicon Valley plans to use AI to do to Hollywood what it did to news and music. Silicon Valley’s bait-and-switch tactics follow a pattern that Cory Doctorow, writing about social media, refers to as “enshittification.” Social media platforms offer benefits to users until they are hooked, then they “enshittify” the product to appeal to advertisers. Once advertisers are on board, platforms “enshittify” their experience, as well as that of users, to extract maximum value. They perfected the game plan at Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, and TikTok and are now extending it outside of social media.

We see this in video streaming technology, the first step in a siege against Hollywood. As Big Tech always does, it baited the trap with short-term benefits, such as an increased investment in programming, which emerged in the form of a golden age of high-quality, limited run series. Streaming caused an explosion in the number of shows, but each show had many fewer episodes, which meant writers would only be employed for eight or 10 weeks at a time. In addition, streaming undercut television syndication, which had been a big source of income for writers. Streaming’s touted benefits have eroded rapidly over the past two years as studios have entered the streaming market, saturating consumer demand and forcing all involved to cut costs.

Now, generative AI is the potential kill shot, the one that could cause copyright owners to surrender their library of scripts, created over decades, in exchange for promised benefits that will never arrive.

When it comes to generative AI and video, Silicon Valley only needs to hook one constituency— Hollywood executives. Once studios buy in, they will be at the mercy of the purveyors of that technology. It happened in journalism. It happened in music. Silicon Valley did not kill those industries, but it gained control of the audience and extracted a huge percentage of the potential profits. For studio executives, generative AI is an intelligence test.

The best path forward is for studios and writers to acknowledge four realities.

First, generative AI will eventually be a valuable tool in some creative realms, potentially including script writing, but only if the AI has been built from the ground up for that task.

Second, the flaws of today’s generative AIs make them unsuitable for serious work, especially in creative fields. General purpose AIs, like ChatGPT, are trained on whatever content the creator can steal on the internet, which means their output often consists of nonsense dressed up to appear authoritative. The best they can do is imitate their training set. These AIs will never be any good at creating draft scripts—even of the most formulaic programming—unless their training set includes a giant library of Hollywood scripts.

Third, Silicon Valley is the common enemy of studios and writers. It is an illusion that studios can partner with AI companies to squeeze writers without being harmed themselves. Silicon Valley is using a potential reduction in writer compensation as the bait in a trap where the target is studio profits.

Fourth, there is no reason Hollywood cannot create its own generative AI to compete with ChatGPT. Studios and writers control the intellectual property needed to make a great AI. A generative AI that is trained on every script contributed by a single studio or collection of studios would produce wildly better scripts than ChatGPT. Would it produce the next Casablanca? No. But it could produce an excellent first draft of an Emmy Awards show script. And it would safeguard the business model of Hollywood for the next generation.

If studios work separately or together to create AI they control, the future of Hollywood will be much brighter. Central to this fourth point is a legal strategy of copyright infringement litigation against the major players in generative AI. If copyright is to mean anything at all, Hollywood must challenge Silicon Valley’s assertion of the right to “permissionless innovation,” which has become a safe harbor for law-breaking in domains ranging from consumer safety to public health to copyright.

Some might say that Hollywood does not have the ability to “do technology.” That is ridiculous. Pixar, Weta Digital, and the CGI special effects industry demonstrate that Hollywood can not only master technology, but also innovate in it.

There are many open source architectures for generative AI. Studios and the WGA can license them cheaply and hire a handful of engineers to train their own AI. It will take many years, but copyright litigation will buy the industry the time it needs, and it may even become a giant profit center.

There are serious issues to be resolved between the writers and studios. AI is part of the negotiation, but it is substantively different from the other issues on the table. The tech industry wants to use generative AI to extract profits from film and television, just as it has done in other categories of media. The question is whether studios will repeat the mistakes of journalism and music.

[literaticat]

Have you ever heard of an 'industry plant' when it comes to music? Do you think/or have publishers ever tried something like this with titles and authors they really want to succeed?

I don't REALLY know what that is, beyond some vague notion, so I looked it up, and basically its a derogatory term that implies that the person actually is talentless -- that, say, a record executive decided "we're going to create a pop star!" and gets somebody to write some songs and gets a cute person with some minor charisma, and basically INVENTS a pop star, putting a ton of money behind them so that they are/seem "successful" but it's not ORGANICALLY successful. (This is the opposite of say, those people who are singer-songwriters who toiled for years in obscurity and then found fame slowly and worked themselves into arena shows by dint of elbow grease and fan support).

I don't even know if that's TRULY what happens in the music industry but maybe -- you could argue that all the "boy bands" that were created by executives or 'hitmakers' back in the day are "industry plants" -- like, let's get a random bunch of cuties in here, one is a bad boy, one is a skater, one is the smart one, one is the heart-throb, and give them some choreo and a bunch of marketing, and voila!

I think that would be difficult to do in publishing, because first of all, books actually are kinda hard to write, and also the amount of money that you get even from a "hit" is absolutely NOTHING compared to what a hit song or TV show or whatever would get. And publishers simply don't have THAT much marketing $$ to spend where they could just throw it at inventing something out of nothing.

So it seems more likely that for BOOKS, they'd simply find a book that they think is likely to appeal to a lot of people, and market the shit out of it.

Which is indeed what they do, for sure, hence why there are some books you see absolutely everywhere -- usually they start being a "lead title" with a lot of marketing -- then they get popular, and word of mouth happens, and they get bigger. (The opposite can also happen -- a "small" book can start really getting traction with readers, and then the publisher wants to push it more!)

That said -- with marketing or without marketing -- books are just by far a less lucrative market than music or TV or movies. Like, a book that sells 50k copies is a big success -- a song that only has 50k downloads is NOT a hit.

[ameursblog]

Exploring the World of IPTV Subscriptions: Unleashing a New Era of Entertainment

In recent years, the way we consume television and media content has undergone a significant transformation. The rise of internet-based streaming services has revolutionized the entertainment industry, offering viewers a diverse array of options at their fingertips. Among the many emerging trends, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) has emerged as a leading choice for individuals seeking high-quality, personalized content. In this article, we delve into the world of IPTV subscriptions, shedding light on their benefits and highlighting a notable website that provides an exceptional IPTV experience.

What is IPTV? IPTV refers to the delivery of television and media content over the internet protocol networks, allowing users to stream their favorite shows, movies, sports events, and more, directly to their devices. Unlike traditional television services, IPTV provides greater flexibility, convenience, and customization options. Users can access content from various sources, including live TV channels, video-on-demand libraries, and even catch-up TV features.

Introducing IPTV: is a prominent player in the IPTV subscription market, renowned for its extensive content offerings, exceptional streaming quality, and user-friendly interface. This platform has gained popularity among IPTV enthusiasts worldwide, attracting a large user base due to its cutting-edge technology and commitment to customer satisfaction.

Key Features and Benefits:

Diverse Content Selection: abonnementsiptv boasts an impressive collection of channels from around the globe, covering a wide range of categories such as sports, news, entertainment, documentaries, and more. With an extensive catalog of international channels, users can enjoy content from their home country or explore programs from different cultures.

High-Quality Streaming: One of the defining features of abonnementsiptv is its commitment to providing high-quality streaming experiences. The platform leverages robust servers and advanced streaming protocols to ensure smooth playback and minimal buffering, even during peak viewing hours. Users can immerse themselves in their favorite shows without interruptions or frustrating lags.

Compatibility and Accessibility: abonnementsiptv understands the importance of accessibility and caters to a broad audience. The platform supports multiple devices, including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and streaming devices, enabling users to enjoy their preferred content on their preferred screens. Additionally, it supports various operating systems, making it compatible with both Android and iOS devices.

Personalized User Experience: Recognizing the diverse preferences of viewers, abonnementsiptv offers customization options to enhance the user experience. Users can create personalized playlists, mark favorite channels, and set reminders for upcoming shows or events. This level of customization allows users to tailor their IPTV experience to their specific interests.

Exceptional Customer Support: abonnementsiptv prioritizes customer satisfaction and provides robust support channels to address any queries or concerns. Users can reach out to the dedicated support team through email or live chat, receiving prompt assistance and troubleshooting guidance whenever needed.

Conclusion: In an era where entertainment options seem limitless, IPTV subscriptions have emerged as a convenient and versatile alternative to traditional television services. abonnementsiptv exemplifies the best of what IPTV has to offer, providing users with a vast array of channels, high-quality streaming, and a personalized viewing experience. By staying at the forefront of technological advancements and prioritizing customer satisfaction, [Website Name] has established itself as a go-to destination for IPTV enthusiasts worldwide, revolutionizing the way we consume entertainment.

Disclaimer: The article does not endorse or promote any specific IPTV website or service, and readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise discretion before subscribing to any IPTV service.

[gadgetsboy]

CES 2023: MediaTek Shows Off Latest in Wi-Fi and IoT Tech

The new year has finally arrived, and we’re getting a load of awesome tech to go along with it. As such, MediaTek has announced several new technologies ahead of the Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas, and they bring some promising new advancements for Wi-Fi and smart home technology. Let’s take a look! Genio 700 Platform To kick things off, the company announced its latest addition to its Genio platform for IoT devices, which aims to bring improvements to smart home and smart retail tech, to name a couple. In particular, the series’ MediaTek Genio 700 is an octa-core chipset designed for just this purpose, featuring two ARM A78 cores running at 2.2GHz and six ARM A55 cores at 2.0GHz while providing 4.0 TOPs AI accelerator. It also comes with support for FHD60+4K60 display, as well as an ISP for better images. According to Richard Lu, Vice President of MediaTek IoT Business Unit: “When we launched the Genio family of IoT products last year, we designed the platform with the scalability and development support that brands need, paving the way for opportunities to continue expanding. With a focus on industrial and smart home products, the Genio 700 is a perfect natural addition to the lineup to ensure we can provide the widest range of support possible to our customers.” The Genio 700 SDK will allow designers to customize products using Yocto Linux, Ubuntu, and Android. With this support, customers can easily develop their own products with a minimal amount of effort, regardless of application type. Additionally, the chipset will have support for high-speed interfaces, including PCIe 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen1 and MIPI-CSI interface for cameras, Dual-Display support including FHD60+4K60 with AV1, VP9, H.265 and H.264 (video decode) support, industrial grade design and wide temp with 10 years longevity, ARM SystemReady certification for providing a standard and easy way to integrate the platform, as well as ARM PSA certification for increased security. The Genio 700 will be commercially available in Q2 2023. Wi-Fi 7 Ecosystem MediaTek also unveiled its new Wi-Fi 7 ecosystem, making it one of the first adopters of the fastest Wi-Fi tech available right now. The company says that this new breakthrough is the result of investing into Wi-Fi 7 technology, aimed at improving always-on connected user experiences for use across smart devices, streaming products, residential gateways, and more. As per Alan Hsu, MediaTek’s corporate vice president and general manager of the Intelligent Connectivity Business unit: “Last year, we gave the world’s first Wi-Fi 7 technology demonstration, and we are honored to now show the significant progress we have made in building a more complete ecosystem of products. This lineup of devices, many of which are powered by the CES 2023 Innovation Award-winning Filogic 880 flagship chipset, illustrates our commitment to providing the best wireless connectivity.” To put it simply, Wi-Fi 7 uses r320MHz channel bandwidth and 4096-QAM modulation to improve overall speeds and user experience. Multi-Link Operation (MLO) also enables Wi-Fi connections to aggregate channel speeds and greatly reduce link interruption in congested environments. MediaTek’s Wi-Fi 7 solution uses a 6nm process, which reduces power consumption by 50%, a 25x reduction in CPU utilization, and 100x lower MLO switch latency. 4T5R and penta-band mesh are also included to address a larger area of coverage and higher number of linked devices. The company also demoed several devices which use its latest Filogic chips, combining Wi-Fi 7 access point technology to broadband operators, retail router channels and enterprise markets. In particular, MediaTek’s Filogic 380 chipset is designed to bring Wi-Fi 7 connectivity to all client devices, including TVs, smart devices, and computers. With that said, MediaTek’s push to innovate and integrate Wi-Fi 7 technology was met with much praise, particularly from its partners including AMD, Lenovo, ASUS, TP-Link, BUFFALO LINK, Korea Telecom, Hisense, Skyworks, Qorvo, Litepoint, and NI. MediaTek x Federated Wireless Additionally, MediaTek has also been working with Federated Wireless in successfully completing interoperability testing for Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) on MediaTek Filogic Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6E chips. For those unfamiliar with the term, AFC systems allow for standard power operation for indoor and outdoor unlicensed devices, including 5G CPEs, fiber gateways, and ethernet gateways, to transmit over 850 MHz of spectrum in the 6 GHz frequency band. This improves range for Wi-Fi products, as well as faster connectivity speeds and improved capacity, which comes into play alongside the arrival of Wi-Fi 7 technology. According to Alan Hsu, MediaTek’s corporate vice president of Connectivity: “Our leadership in Wi-Fi technology would not be complete without ensuring our customers have easy access to AFC solutions. We are very happy to partner with Federated Wireless and to have finished an extensive series of integration testing. Our Filogic Wi-Fi 7 and 6E chips, including the CES 2023 Innovation Award-winning Filogic 880, will soon support Standard Power operation in the 6GHz spectrum for companies producing Wi-Fi devices.”  The aforementioned AFC interoperability testing consisted of a set of positive and negative tests drawn from the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) AFC System certification specification.  The positive tests included verifying the proper AFC calculation and response of spectrum availability at several locations, while the negative tests included verifying proper AFC System error handling. Kurt Schaubach, chief technology officer at Federated Wireless states: “We are proud to partner with MediaTek to perform these critical interoperability tests to ensure that the commercial industry is ready for standard power device operations to begin. Federated Wireless prides itself on being a premier collaborator with our partners and customers interested in spectrum sharing solutions.” The completion of these tests will allow customers to use Federated Wireless’ AFC system on MediaTek Filogic Wi-Fi 7 and 6E chips (upon full approval by the FCC). Read the full article