#TikTok is very bad at hiding hashtags…

[nanowatzophina]

Literally already in love with them both—

[dragonheart2497]

things twitter migrants may find useful that dont often get included in "how to tumblr" posts

1- queueing!

instead of feeling bad for spam-reblogging and clogging up other people's feeds, you can click the dropdown and add it to your queue instead!

you can edit how many times a day your queue posts, and between what hours. You can easily re-order or completely shuffle your queue as well!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REBLOG STUFF. Tumblr doesn't run on an algorithm!! YOU are responsible for putting cool stuff onto your followers feeds!

"but if i reblog too much people can't see my posts!" i have just the thing for you

2- personal tags

You can have different tags you use on your blog to help people navigate! for example, i use "dh rb art" when I reblog art and "dh rb" for most other reblogs- that's so that people can filter my reblogs out of their feeds if they dont wanna see that, and only want my original posts to show up.

On the other hand, my art is tagged "dh2497" so they can easily search my account for it!

If you open a person's blog and click the search button, a list of Featured Tags will show up. By default this is just the blogger's most used tags, but you can customize what shows up on yours in your blog settings

You can follow entire hashtags too! if you wanna see hermitcraft fanart without following every hermitcraft artist, follow the tag :D

3- Filtering

Tumblr actually hides things you don't wanna see, very nicely!

In your account settings, you can filter specific tags, and even specific words that show up in the post.

sometimes different bloggers warning tag differently (i do [trigger] tw or [content] cw) so you can try to input every variant, but if its something you really want to avoid just put it in the post content as well. Blocklists aren't really a tumblr thing, so if you wanna avoid an entire community you can block their tag as well

NEVER. CENSOR. YOUR WARNINGS. PLEASE. On twitter or tiktok or wherever, you may have to do that or else the algorithm suppresses it- THERES NO ALGORITHM HERE!!! if someone reblogs your post, it will show up for others, don't worry!!! you're just bypassing filters placed for people's safety, if you censor words.

Also! don't worry too much if a word you wanna filter is commonly used in unrelated contexts- tumblr doesn't remove it entirely, but rather adds a 'spoiler' so that you have to click on it to view it. So just in case it is what you want to avoid, you have time to prepare to see it.

4- effective tagging

[read more in detail here] Only the first 5 tags will show up for people who follow the hashtag. That makes them the most important! Then, the first 20 tags will make the post show up when searching that tag. The rest of them do not give your post any visibility.

I see a lot of people reblogging art with fanart tags- that can be useful for searching back the tag in the reblogger's blog specifically, but doesn't actually give the OP more visibility in that tag.

You'll learn what tags to use by checking the content you come across! most communities are "[word]blr", and most fanart goes "#[character/show] fanart". tumblr tags can have spaces!

Lastly, a few notes

you will only have 1 PRIMARY blog. this will appear when you like a post, comment on a post, or follow a blog. your sideblogs will not link back to your primary blog, but you cannot do those interactions as those sideblogs.

artists love receiving compliments when you reblog!! commenting does NOT boost the post. most people put their compliments in the TAGS of their reblog, so that it doesn't become a long post/thread, and if people reblog the reblog of your reblog you won't keep gettings notifications about it. The artist will still see and very much appreciate it

read up on tumblr etiquette, do not treat this place like twitter or you'll be disliked lol. there are some 'big blogs' but follower counts aren't public, popularity isn't a contest here. make friends, or just block/ignore people you don't get along with. no one cares about your petty arguments

if you noticed the lil cat in my screenshots, that's from a very useful browser extension called XKit!! it enables 1-click queue reblogs (automatically adding your tags), mass-post editing, and lots of other great tweaks vanilla tumblr doesn't have! and the cat is a silly cute thing you can enable in it as well

[katsuflossy]

Misguided Spark

Pairing: Kaminari Denki x black reader

TW: Suggestive themes, some obscenities, Becky

A/n: Why do I always get inspired by Tiktoks 😭😭 but anyways I’ve been giving Mr Bakugo wayy too much attention and neglecting our shocky boy Denki. So please enjoy!!! 💕

P.S. credit to my bb @iiminibattlehero for giving me a title when my brain was pooped😣

You’ve been with Denki for two years. After joining Uravity’s agency, you’ve met the bolt of lightning that struck through your beautiful black heart (this was after many failed pickup lines and one failed date that resulted in your favorite shirt getting seared off.) Denki did nothing to conceal you, in fact, he showed you off despite your protests; the few couples photos on his Instagram told the story of your love life—not secret but it’s none of your business. 

So why do his fans pair him up with every other hero?!

You would’ve understood if he was shipped with his friends and other heroes in the Big Leagues; your reputation being Uraraka’s sidekick had granted you some fame but you hadn’t reached the big pond yet. 

However, his mass of fans and reporters paired him with everyone under the sun—heroes and sidekicks alike—except you. Just last week Mina nearly choked out a reporter because he trailed her during her patrol, asking what she and Chargebolt did last night. Who knew a simple drink with close friends would spread like wildfire over the news. Oh, not to mention you were there too, holding Kaminari’s hand and laying your head on his shoulder. Your brown face and body had been cut out from every magazine seen the next day. The picture of Mina and Kaminari at an older drink night resurfaced on your timeline, showing Mina slapping his back as he choke-laughed on some beer. 

You didn’t tell Denki your insecurities about the whole world romanticizing him with other very pale—except for Mina’s case—heroes. You can picture his exact laugh, his hand falling on your cheek while affirming you had nothing to worry about. You’re his lovely lady forever and always. 

However, tonight was a different kind of irritation.

The bedroom finally fell quiet, your steamy session released the sexual tension during today’s joint practice. Kaminari’s eyes followed your heavenly molded ass all around the gym, and your own followed his nicely sculpted back when it was angled in your peripheral view. The deed was done now. Your finger made pointless drawings on his naked chest as you laid against his stomach, looking thoughtlessly up at him and his blonde glory. Two nude bodies curled against each other in comfortable silence.

At least that was the case until your phone pinged due to a notification. Your phone glowed the Twitter symbol, the only app you used to keep up with the hero scene and news. One glance at the title and you wished you had put your phone on Do Not Disturb.

Chargebolt's with a civilian fiancee?! Read more about the Electric hero dating top American chef, Becky Gudhear, and their secret relationship.

Your lips formed a scowl at the picture. The blond female chef was entering a car as Denki held her umbrella above her head, the rain clattering against the umbrella as he smiled at the lady. Only for you to remember the next two minutes after the photo was taken; Denki snatched you up, running through the rain as both screamed in delight. 

You shot up from his muscular chest, the middle of your brows creased and your brown thumb scrolled through the hashtags. Denki looked at you before going on his own phone.

Deku’s ratty shoes @noticemesemmpai: “I didn’t know Denki liked white girls *this goes completely with my fantasy*”

Ground zero’s harem girl @otakuforevaava: “Not him cheating on Mina.”

Ground zero’s harem girl #2 @lemmebiteacrumbofdatass: “@otakuforevaava Nah, he’s with Jiro. Did y’all not see when she gave him that hug?”

Your eyes darted from one ship to another, none ever mentioning you, before throwing your phone on the mattress. You swung your legs over the edge of the bed, removing yourself from its comfort to pace around the room in frustration. Denki cocked a brow at your strange behavior; you weren’t usually this upset and if you were, you’d simply just watch baby videos until you perked up. The screen glowed through the mattress despite being faced down, holding the secret of your furrowed eyebrows and sharp glare. He took up the phone, showing all the news outlets, fan mentions, and titles creating a relationship not with his black girlfriend but with some random lady that he helped out of the kindness of his heart. 

“Damn, they’re really going bonkers over this one act of kindness. Is Chivalry that dead?”

“As dead as their brains are.” You grumbled out, flopping back on to the edge of the bed.

“It’ll die out in a week. Give or take.” 

“Or not at all. They always come back when they spot you 6 feet from this lady, then resurface this same picture or even better crop me out and photoshop her in it!” Your outburst was met with silence and a wide-eyed, very concerned lighting wielder. 

“...but it’s cool tho.” 

“(Y/n)? Why didn’t you tell me this’d been hurting you?” Your gaze averted to your fingers, twiddling as your embarrassment heated your cheeks.

“I didn’t want to because I thought you’d think I was silly for thinking like that. Plus, I was the one that told you that being with a superhero like you will make me look like a whore trying to climb the ranks.”

“Silly? Baby, I nearly threw your teddy bear across the room because it was looking at your ass too much. If anything I’m the silly one.”

“You didn’t nearly throw Parker across the room, you did throw him across the room.” Two pairs of eyes went to the slumped bear at the opposite corner of the room. It’s patched tongue ratty due to the force it was a victim to.

“... And I’d do it again.” Your attempt to sigh only released the giggle in your throat as Denki continued.

“And baby? Fuck what these tabloids are saying. You’re a skillful fighter and Ochaco’s number one sidekick! If that isn’t a fine, brave, amazing woman then I don’t know what is.” Your body tingled in warmth, unable to hide the physical effects of his compliments as wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him straight on his lips.

“Thank you Denki, I really needed to hear that.” 

“Oh, I’m not done yet.” He moved out of your embrace, kneeling to set his phone up on the bedside table. The lamp was used as support, showing the front camera the entirety of the room. 

“Denki? What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry doll, just sit there and look pretty.” He continued to tap against the screen before a familiar symbol popped up.

Tiktok, one of Denki’s favorite apps, met your eyes as it began to start up. Denki was one of the only pro heroes on Tiktok, which garnered him 5.5 million followers, and at least a million views each video he made. He swiped and scrolled until his eyes lighted up.

“Go put on my shirt. I don’t want them seeing any parts of you only for my pleasure.” You raised an eyebrow at the request but still complied. 

“Now come here, sexy.” Your footsteps hesitantly approached his side of the bed, unknowing about what scheme he made up in his brain. You stopped right where the camera couldn’t see you but you were too far for his liking, so he grabbed the plush of your thigh, pulling you close enough to bury his nose into your flesh. 

“That’s more like it. You ready?” 

“Denki I swear to God you better answer me. What are we doing—”

He tapped the screen, unaffected by your threat, and began to record. The beat was all too familiar before your eyes widened and your face erupted in heat. Sex Talk?!

“Aye uh...ahhh.” He wasted no time getting into character, sticking his tongue out as he winked at the camera. Your melanin-rich thigh stared back at you through the phone, making it known that the leg Denki held indeed belonged to a black person. His hand, under the shirt, kept firm on the back of your thigh to ensure that you stayed within the frame as he continued his Tiktok.

“Aye, bad bitch tastes like cherry kiwi, real big titties these double DDs.” He sings out the song, pointing to your very exposed thigh. Your face hot, the thought of this going online burned your face with not only embarrassment but also excitement. You buried your face in your hands as Denki skimmed your leg with his nose.

“Mwah…” He pressed his lips against your flesh, the epicenter sending tingling waves through your body as he looked straight up at you. His eyes twinkled with mischief as the sound ended. He grabbed the phone before you could reach it, hitting ‘post’ before you could snatch it out of his hand.

“Denki! Your PR manager is so going to kill me.” You scrolled through his phone frantically; it was already pinging with likes and comments from the video posted just 10 seconds ago.

He plucked the phone from your hands and placed it down on the table.

“Never mind that baby girl. The song said a bad bitch tastes like cherry kiwi and I suddenly forgot how that taste. Maybe I should sample you again…” Without ceasing he pressed his lips against yours, ready to start the night off again. 

(H/n)’s footstool @blackshipper: @theeofficialy/n this you? *Chargebolt’s new TikTok*

Chargebolt and (h/n) sittin in a tree @comegetyalljuice: I fucking knew it! (h/n)’s living our Chargebolt fantasy.

Stream Sex Talk by Megan @kpophoebutnotondalow: If your man ain’t kissing up your thigh like Chargebolt did with (h/n), is he even your man?

Mirko’s left rabbit foot @westanMirko: Guys, that’s not @theeofficialy/n, that’s Mirko duh…

You rolled your eyes at the tweet before scrolling through the rest of them. Denki’s chest raised and lowered as he looked through his own phone. Suddenly, you received an email notification. Your eyes widened as you read its body.

“Denki! Some talk show wants us to come in and talk about our relationship. They finally recognize that I’m your partner!” He craned his neck to face you, offering a smirk at your excitement.

“Good, that’ll show Parker who you’re real man is!” The teddy bear stayed in the corner it was thrown, now laying on its side, looking solemnly at the bed. 

“You’re annoying.”

“You still love me though.” A smile spanned your face as you inched closer to Denki’s. Your lips met his in a soft embrace before withdrawing. 

“Yeah, I do.”

[senorarelojes]

Pizzaverse artwork and ficlet: 'A Little Piece'

@maiyashu made this really cute and beautiful Instagram post of Pizzaverse Dave being silly and drawing little monsters/creatures on the notes he leaves for Alan and their kids around the house. Of course, Alan shows off his husband's work on Instagram. Under the artwork is an accompanying ficlet set in the future for the Pizzaverse timeline. Thank you dear Shu for your gorgeous (and funny) artwork! Happy Father's Day to the boys!

Title: A Little Piece Pairing: Dave/Alan Rating: General Tags: Pizzaverse, Kid Fic, Fluff

Dave was always amused whenever Alan teased him about being the one in their relationship who was more addicted to social media. It seemed they were both on an even keel; Alan posted more often, while Dave had a variety of accounts across various platforms that he’d lost interest in after the initial posting frenzy. They had their different addictions too: Dave liked the spontaneity of Twitter and TikTok, while Alan for some reason preferred Facebook and Reddit. But Instagram was their common vice, and most of their friend circle were on it as well.

Before fatherhood, Dave had imagined that his use of social media would dwindle because he simply wouldn’t have the time. But instead he’d found the opposite to be true: now he wanted to post about Alan, Paris and Stella all the time, and he didn’t even care if no one outside their family and a few chosen friends would find it cute.

Of course, both Dave and Alan took care to obscure the faces of their daughters. But the adorable things they did were up for grabs: Paris’ first steps, then followed by Stella’s in a few years. Their first stuffed toys. Their first drawings. Dave shamelessly spammed his IG feed with various pictures and videos, and refused to feel bad about it because Martin was doing the same with his kids, and so was Fletch, who seemed convinced that his daughter was a maths prodigy.

Of course, Dave posted pictures of Alan on his feed as well. Naturally his husband was usually included if it was a picture or video with one of the girls, such as Alan helping Paris with her homework or feeding Stella at dinnertime. But sometimes Dave saved a few precious shots he’d snuck on his phone, like Alan frowning at the computer in his tiny makeshift home studio, or stealing a rare moment after the girls had gone to bed to listen to one of the many records he owned. Those didn’t get as many likes and comments as anything Dave posted of the girls, but he didn’t care much.

In truth, Dave would have probably gone on like this if Alan hadn’t taken him aside one night and asked him why he’d stopped posting pictures of his art. “My art?” Dave echoed, genuinely surprised that Alan had been keeping track because Dave certainly hadn’t.

“Yeah, your paintings.” Alan gestured towards Dave’s most recent effort, which was a white cat posing regally by a candle. Even that had been painted more than a year ago, before Stella had come into their lives. “You don’t really post them anymore. Or paint much more, for that matter.”

Dave just kept staring at Alan in astonishment. When they had gotten married and subsequently made the decision to become parents via surrogacy, it had been pretty much an unspoken agreement between them that family and work would have higher priority. This meant their hobbies were naturally the first thing to be sacrificed for time, and Dave had been fine with that. They hadn’t touched the band in years, not since the last time everyone had performed at Martin’s wedding.

But now Dave realised that he missed painting with an ache like a phantom limb, like something that had always been a part of him was now oddly missing. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d picked up a paintbrush for the hell of it. Everything he’d designed or illustrated over the past year had solely been for work, and that thought pained him like a spike through his solar plexus.

In contrast, Alan - who had always been very driven and disciplined - seemed to have no problem reviving his interests in mixing and composing after Stella had started sleeping at more regular hours. So Dave didn't even have the excuse of fatherhood.

“You should pick it up again,” Alan told him with a gentle squeeze of his hand, before moving on to the topic of Father’s Day, which was coming up. Dave just nodded distractedly when Alan suggested ordering in brunch from a nice restaurant, still preoccupied with thoughts of Alan’s mind-blowing revelation.

After that conversation with Alan, Dave decided to try and carve out time for painting. Although that wasn’t always possible, he did want to show Alan he was trying, so he started with small gestures. If he left reminders and post-its for Alan around the house, he’d be sure to draw a funny cartoon to accompany his loopy handwriting, like a sentient postbox (to remind Alan to go to the post office) or a funny caricature of Martin and Fletch (to ask Alan if he wanted to have dinner and catch up with them).

Alan never really mentioned the little drawings beyond an amused eye-roll, but Dave knew Alan was never particularly verbose about his true sentiments anyway. Dave had learned to look towards Alan’s actions instead. Sure enough, Alan started taking pictures of Dave’s little drawings and posting them on Instagram with an accompanying dry and witty caption, along with the hashtag ‘#artisthusband’. To Dave’s surprise, it really took off among their friends and other family members, and Dave always had to fend off demands from his mum and Sue about more cute artwork everytime he called home.

Since Paris and Stella loved the drawings too, he started drawing little monsters for them on their paper lunch bags, which he would prepare for them before Alan would drop them off at daycare. It wasn’t long before Alan started posting these on Instagram too, and his comment section would get animated at times because Martin, Fletch, Paul, Daryl and the rest would start discussing which creature Dave had meant to draw. He didn’t have the heart to tell them he’d made them all up on the spot.

Having Alan’s support like this, even for his silly little drawings, was more fulfilling and touching than Dave had expected. So he’d really meant it when he said he was going to get art supplies, but more often than not Dave would get distracted and buy Elsa colouring books for the girls instead. Alan hadn’t said anything at all, but Dave knew how to read him pretty well by now. His husband was definitely planning something.

On the morning of Father’s Day, Dave was the first out of bed so he put in the order at the restaurant before going for a run in Hyde Park. His metabolism wasn’t what it used to be, and he’d gotten into the habit of eating off the girls’ plates whenever they couldn’t finish their food. Alan was a really good cook too, so Dave knew he had to fit in a run today if he was going to be feasting on french toast and eggs benedict for Father’s Day.

When he got home, he thought he spotted Alan in the study with a giggling Paris and Stella. “Hello, my loves,” he yelled out at the door, even more mystified when Alan quickly stepped out of the study with the girls, closing the door hurriedly behind them.

“The food’s just got delivered, I’ll set the table,” Alan told him with a too-bright smile. ‘You go shower first, yeah?”

Dave decided to let his suspicious behaviour go for now. “Alright, sure.” He loped over to where they were, giving Alan a brief kiss and a I’m-on-to-you squint before bending down to stretch his arms out to the girls. “Can I get a hug first?”

“Daddy’s stinky!” Paris protested laughingly, while an uncomprehending Stella just giggled along with her older sister.

Dave’s jaw dropped in mock outrage. “Stinky, am I? How about I make you stinky too, huh?” He pretended to chase a squealing Paris and Stella for a hug, laughing when they ran to hide behind an amused Alan’s legs.

“Just go shower, the food’s getting cold, you lunatic.” Alan shook his head at Dave with a grin before shepherding the girls to the dining area. Dave left him to it, washing up quickly so he could join his family for breakfast.

However, he wasn’t expecting to find Alan and the girls waiting for him outside the bedroom, all of them grinning innocently at him. “What’s going on?” a suspicious Dave asked.

Paris took his hand and tugged him to the study, Alan picking up Stella and following with her in his arms. When Paris pushed open the door, Dave stared in shock at the brand new easel waiting for him, along with the art supplies neatly piled on top of a blank canvas. He stepped forward, picking up the paints and brushes with trembling hands. Alan had gotten everything right, remembered every detail from when Dave used to paint before they’d gotten married and become fathers.

“I had to take a bit out of the holiday budget for this,” came Alan’s soft voice behind him. “But it’s worth it for me to delay our trip. I’d rather see you painting again.”

“We want more of Daddy’s paper monsters!” Paris declared gleefully, while Stella stared at all of them in bafflement.

“I--” Dave just couldn’t speak. His heart was so full, like it was going to overflow with joy and sentiment and his overwhelming love for his family. There were simply no words that could possibly encapsulate the emotions warring within him now, so instead he grabbed Alan and the girls to him in a tight hug, his breaths ragged and his eyes wet.

“Happy Father’s Day,” Alan said quietly, the smile evident in his voice even though Dave couldn’t quite see his face.

“You too, Al.” Dave pulled away to kiss him, then smothered his squealing girls with equal affection.

[identybeautynet]

Doctors suggest you don’t take your beauty tips from TikTok

Doctors suggest you dont take your beauty tips from TikTok “I always know when something is trending on TikTok because I’ll have an influx of patients coming in and asking me about the same thing,” says Dr Niket Sonpal, a gastroenterologist. Most of the time, that “thing” is a beauty or wellness tip that’s gone viral on the video-sharing platform, without evidence that it actually works. The advice may be ineffective or outright dangerous, from drinking chlorophyll to induce weight loss, to using sunscreen only in select areas to “naturally” contour your face. “We talk about TikTok all the time in my office,” says Dr Dendy Engelman, a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon, “and I think it might be worse than other platforms because people are really looking to create content with that wow factor, the thing that will go viral, even if it’s not grounded in science.” It’s not surprising that the app that brought us the “Benadryl challenge” (taking large doses of the antihistamine to induce hallucinations) and “the Everclear test” (doing shots of the high-proof alcohol) is not a fount of doctor-approved beauty guidance. But many consumers throw reason and caution to the wind when faced with these trends, underscoring a growing subversion of authority in which an influencer’s word is replacing that of experts. “It’s funny because patients are often so timid in our office about trying treatments,” Engelman says. “But when they see something done on Instagram from an 18-year-old influencer, they’re like, ‘Sure!’” What not to try at home Compiling an exhaustive list of TikTok’s bad beauty advice is next to impossible because the content on the platform seems to multiply in step with our increasingly short attention spans and insatiable craving for the new. But a few trends that have dominated the platform of late are especially mind-boggling to doctors. If people are seeing ‘results’ from drinking chlorophyll, it’s likely because they’re drinking more water than normal, so their skin is getting better and their bathroom trips are more regular Dr Niket Sonpal Take “slugging,” a TikTok trend advising people to sleep with a thick layer of Vaseline on their face to aid hydration. Videos with the hashtag have 14.4 million views on the platform, and the trend has been promoted by influencers like Hyram Yarbro and Cait Kiernan. But dermatologists warn that it can have adverse effects on your skin. “Putting an occlusive on your skin and letting it sit overnight sets you up for exacerbating clogged pores and breakouts,” Engelman says. Then there’s the “sunscreen contouring”, which dermatologist Dr Neera Nathan heard about, to her horror, from one of her patients. Some influencers have advised people tired of contouring their faces with makeup to use a thick sunscreen with high SPF, applying it only on the areas they want to highlight, like the top of the cheekbones and bridge of the nose. The rest of the face is left to tan (and burn), sunscreen free. It’s a tip that flies in the face of the American Academy of Dermatology’s recommendation that everyone wear a broad-spectrum SPF of at least 30 on any exposed skin. “We know that this is crucial to do from a very young age from both a skin cancer and anti-aging perspective, so the idea that these videos are suggesting otherwise to a very young audience is disturbing,” Nathan says. In April, drinking chlorophyll, which has had moments on other social media platforms, had a spike in interest on TikTok, driven by the endorsements of influencers like Amelie Zilber, according to Traackr, an influencer marketing platform. It has been called a “miracle product” that can increase energy levels, induce weight loss and clear up skin, but doctors say these claims are not backed by research. Drinking chlorophyll is one of the more harmless recommendations on TikTok, but it’s likely to be a waste of money. (Raw chlorophyll drops on Amazon cost about £15, on average.) “If people are seeing ‘results’ from drinking chlorophyll, it’s likely because they’re drinking more water than normal, so their skin is getting better and their bathroom trips are more regular,” Sonpal, the gastroenterologist, says. What trend do doctors really want to see left to the professionals? Microneedling, which involves puncturing the skin with tiny needles in an effort to generate new collagen. On TikTok, conversation around at-home microneedling grew in 2020 and is already experiencing five times more engagement in 2021, per Traackr, but experts say it’s incredibly risky to do at home. While some studies have shown that medical-grade microneedling can improve skin suppleness and lessen wrinkles, “it needs to be done in a really clean, safe setting,” Engelman says, pointing to the high risk of infection. “If you go hard enough on your skin, it can lead to colour change, textural change and scarring, essentially worsening what you’re trying to make look better, like fine lines and acne scars.” Viewer, beware Tilly Whitfeld, a reality TV star from Australia’s Big Brother, has learned firsthand just how dangerous beauty trends can be. After spending her time on the 24-hour surveillance-style show wearing clay face masks or heavy makeup, she was questioned by viewers about what she was hiding and confessed vaguely on Instagram in May that a TikTok beauty trend had damaged her skin. Whitfeld, 21, says by phone from Sydney that she hadn’t told anyone exactly what it was because she “knew” she would look like an idiot. Last August, she was browsing TikTok when she came across a video teaching people how to give themselves freckles using sewing needles and ink that were said to fade within six months. Since the video didn’t clarify what type of ink to get, she ordered brown tattoo ink she found on eBay, which she later discovered was a counterfeit product made with high levels of lead, and began pricking her face in a freckle pattern. “It didn’t hurt at all, so I didn’t think I should stop,” says Whitfeld, who went over the marks multiple times, as advised by the video’s creator. There weren’t any faux freckles, and her face swelled up from infection, which caused her to briefly lose sight in one eye, she says, and she now has scarring across her cheeks and nose. With nearly $12,000 already sunk into doctor’s visits, Whitfeld has yet to find a solution to correct the damage. Laser removal is apparently not an option because, doctors have told her, the ink she used will turn black rather than fade. “The main response has been that I’m stupid, and, yeah, I agree,” she says. For doctors, it’s a terrifying scenario. “You have a lot of people claiming to be experts who have no real consequences for giving really bad advice,” Sonpal says. Stories like Whitfeld’s have doctors hoping that the companies running these platforms will place disclaimers on beauty content stating that it’s unverified or dangerous to try at home, but they’re not holding their breath. In the meantime, they’d prefer that you reach out to, yes, a doctor, via appointment or direct message on social media, before putting your faith in a TikTok video. As Sonpal puts it, “We can counsel and educate you for more than 60 seconds.” Doctors suggest you don’t take your beauty tips from TikTok Read the full article

[prismmarketing]

Is it possible to monetize YouTube videos? Some Have Already Been!

How has the success of YouTube Shorts been so far, and can they be monetized? Learn how to make Shorts profitable and understand how the short-form video format works from Prism Digital Marketing one of the best video marketing companies in Dubai.

 On March 18, 2021, YouTube Shorts made its debut in the United States. The new short-form video experience, which YouTube describes as “...for producers and artists who want to film short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones,” is still in its early stages.

 According to a post on the Official YouTube Blog by Todd Sherman, the Product Lead of YouTube Shorts, the player has already topped 6.5 billion daily global views. Since the beginning of December, the number of Indian channels employing creation tools (where they are being beta tested) has more than tripled.

 Will YouTube Shorts Become Popular?

 We previously said that there are three target audiences for YouTube Shorts: 

● Artists and creators.

● Subscribers and viewers.

● Brands and advertisers.

 And, as I previously stated, if creators and artists don't see an increase in the number of viewers and subscribers that advertisers and marketers want to target, this three-legged stool will topple over faster than you can say "Vine."

 That's why I didn't focus on the new editing capabilities, which could do things like link together various video clips. The fact that short, vertical videos will be "easily discoverable on the YouTube homepage (on the new Shorts shelf), as well as across other portions of the app" was the deciding factor.

 So, has YouTube's new Shorts shelf altered the way videos are discovered?

 When Sherman announced the launch of YouTube Shorts in the United States, he made it clear that creation was simply one aspect of the service. YouTube also sought to make it easier for viewers to discover Shorts and artists, hence the new section on the homepage dedicated to them.

 He continued,

 “As more people make and watch Shorts, we expect our systems to improve, allowing us to better assist you in discovering new material, trends, and artists you'll enjoy.”

 According to YouTube, it is continually experimenting with new methods to present content, and Shorts can currently be accessed in the following places: 

● On YouTube's home page and in the Shorts section.

● By default, featured on channel pages.

● By selecting the module titled "What to Watch Next."

● Using the YouTube search engine.

● Subscription feeds for users.

 Creators should use the hashtag #Shorts in the title or description of their film to help it get discovered and featured on YouTube. So, what else can you do to make your YouTube Shorts more optimized?

 What's Working for Creators of YouTube Shorts

 Take a peek at some of the most popular Shorts from the last few weeks to get a sense of what people are watching. According to Tubular Labs, the YouTube video with the most views was uploaded on or after March 18, 2021, and it was only 1:00 in length. “THIS NEARLY GAVE HIM A HEART ATTACK!” it says.

 It was uploaded by Woody & Kleiny Extra on March 26, 2021, and it presently has a view count of almost 140 million. Oh, and the hashtags #shorts, #comedy, and #bestfriends are all used.

 This is, without a doubt, a prank video. That's a genre that's been around since CarrieNYC's "Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise" received 74.9 million views in October 2013. Nonetheless, Woody & Kleiny Extra deserves credit for repackaging this classic wine in a new bottle. It's also worth mentioning that Woody & Kleiny Extra are from the United Kingdom.

Is YouTube Shorts available in that nation already? Certainly not. Many stations in various regions of the world are interested in attracting American viewers and subscriptions. Is it true that this worked? During the two weeks leading up to the posting of "THIS NEARLY GAVE HIM A HEART ATTACK!" the channel received 180 million views and 275,000 subscribers.

 In the two weeks after the prank film was uploaded, it received 330 million views and 389,000 subscribers (47.7 percent of their YouTube audiences come from the U.S., while 7.8 percent come from the U.K.). The authors of their Short also encourage visitors to subscribe to our main channel in the description.

 In the two weeks after the prank film was released to their secondary channel, their primary channel received 5.5 million views and 20,000 subscribers.

 “TwinsFromRussia latest tiktok #shorts” is in second place. This 0:31-long film, which was uploaded on March 22, 2021, has already received 81.3 million views (notice the #shorts hashtag in the title).

 “Good always wins bad!” question identical twins Kirill and Filipp Revega, award-winning performers, musicians, bloggers, and public characters, in a pinned comment to their video. “Are you in agreement?”

 Although it dates back to Aesop's tales, this genre is relatively new to YouTube. Who knows, maybe we'll start seeing other Shorts that deliver a story's moral in under a minute.

 “The Tiktok food Challenge #shorts” is in third place. Tiktoriki's amusing video.” This 0:23-long film, which was uploaded on March 24, 2021, has already had 80.3 million views. The hashtag appears in the title once again.

 What genre do you think this video belongs in? It's similar to a mukbang, when two hosts eat varying amounts of food while conversing with the audience. This genre first gained popularity in South Korea in 2010, and it has since become a significant global craze. Why not adopt mukbang shorts? Since March 18, 2021, 96,900 accounts have uploaded 525,000 videos to YouTube with the hashtag #shorts.

 In the three weeks ending April 8, 2021, they collectively received 17.4 billion (with a "b") views. So, how popular are YouTube Shorts? Without a doubt.

 Can YouTube Shorts Be Profited From?

 Now we come to the crux of the matter: can YouTube Shorts be made profitable? If you watch the three short-form videos mentioned above again, you'll see that they all contain advertisements.

 However, keep in mind that there are two types of Shorts:

 ● The first is content made with the Shorts camera, which has a 15-second time limit.

● The other is any vertical video with the hashtag #Shorts in the title or description that is less than 60 seconds long.

 We shouldn't be surprised to learn that the lengthier version of Shorts is supported by advertisements. This could explain why the lengthier version is used in nearly three-quarters of the films published with the #Shorts hashtag since March 18, 2021. Is this to imply that making a shorter version of Shorts is a "faith-based initiative"?

 Let's take a look at Sherman's post once more.

 Near the end, he discusses how YouTube has aided a generation of creators in turning their passion into a business, paying out more than $30 billion to them in the last three years. Okay, that's OK. But what about Shorts' shorter version?

 Sherman continued,

 “Because Shorts is a new way to watch and produce on YouTube, we're rethinking how to commercialize Shorts and reward creators for their work.”

 They're still figuring out how to monetize this format in the future, so stay tuned for more information. Alternatively, the solution may already be hiding in plain sight, as I suspect.

 YouTube unveiled BrandConnect on June 16, 2020, promising to make it easier for creators and marketers to be more real and effective. Henry Scott-Green, the Product Manager of YouTube BrandConnect, said in a post on the Official YouTube Blog unveiling insights-based matchmaking tools to provide eligible creators additional access to sponsored content:

 “Our proactive matchmaking delivers highly engaging and relevant sponsored content because of the connection that creators have with their followers. And it's working: the average deal size across the complete service package has increased by more than 260 percent in the last two years.”

 He went on to say that new measurement tools like Brand Interest Lift, Influencer Lift, and organic view-through dialogues would provide more accountability and real-time marketing results. He explained that this allows marketers to assess the impact and return on investment of influencer marketing on YouTube.

BrandConnect's first launch was hampered by a number of problems, including the COVID-19 epidemic and early eligibility limits. (Only creators with 25,000+ subscribers in the United States were eligible.) So, if YouTube is looking at future revenue options, my utterly unscientific wild guess is that one of them will likely be reducing the constraints for BrandConnect participation.

 Keep an eye out for more developments. Prism Digital Marketing a local video marketing agency will keep you updated and can help you in creating Shorts that will trend and will be very profitable.

[simonaj1804]

Social research

Social Media – Impact on human behavior

I have previously been interested and read up about mental health and behaivor changes in humans that has happened or changed due to impact of media or society that has been impacted by media and internet. It is an interesting topic and it’s a topic that is seen to take place in every day life. Social media overal has made humans bolder. Societyy as whole is affected when rumors are spread.  Social media encourages mob mentality and supposed justice when accorded by a mob even if fatal to the individual rarely gets punished. For example Twitter is full of trolls looking for validation. Their goal is to pick on a celebrity or a content creator and insult them in horrible ways. You can see that many times on other social media such as TikTok, Instagram etc. people carefully look after the well-known people and pick on every little mistake they could possibly make and call it being ‘cancelled’. Which at times sometimes could ruin a person’s life or career (not only the online one) or mental health which is even worse when it’s affected. Also another fact is that Social Media has allowed to become to so many people celebrities through the apps. I is encouraging many others to become popular as well and in the process some are turning into self-obsessed and narcissistic. It can also make people very insecure if they’re not pretty or good looking, or even talented as others. There’s many times when a good looking female or male posts pictures of themselves and many many people comment that it has made them cry or that they’re jealous. They become self-conscious by comparing themselves to the (mostly) edited pictures or selfies of celebrities which are anatomically or naturally not the same as irl and in the picture. It is also encouraging violent behaivour for many. Before the internet has became popular, people couldn’t harass others easily. But now anyone can easily harass and threaten others by hiding their identity. Most of the social media content creators face cyberbullying, threats and trolling. People who are used to harass other online tend to develop more and more violent behaivour because most of the times they aren’t being punished enough for it. I had myself many experiences with this where I have received death threats, people attempting to stalk me or actual stalkers trying to get access to my location I lived in. Lot of teens and younger generations suffer from anxiety and depression when they face cyber-bullying. Lack of awarness and knowledge when they enter the online world is letting them become vulnerable to people who can use them or proceed to threaten them. Many of them are also suffering from low-self esteem as I said previously because of watching many people showing off their talents through social media. It has also power to instil anger in people in particular communities or towards particular people and this anger is being carried forward to real life. There’s also plenty of content on social media on makeup anad beauty products. There are so many makeup channels on YouTube. With high-quality videos and images, people are promoting products to improve their outward appearance. This is causing people, especially girls to give too much importance to beauty. They are also often being lied to because eventhough the product are being promoted by content creators and have photoshoots with people and skin they’re often still photoshoped or edited. Fake news is also causing panic among people. It is in turn leading to hatred and clashes between communities that we have seen in previous years..

Overal negative impact on sociaty might be that it is promoting gossiping and causing damage to the reputation of people. It’s the major reason for making content viral. However, not all viral content is trustworthy. There are many incidents of fake news going viral. A while ago few people were lynched by a mob in separate incidents. This happened because they believed fake news that said child traffickers are roaming in their area. Innocent people were murdered as the villagers thought they came to their area to kidnap children. Powerful people are using social media as a tool to impose their ideaologies on people. For example when political parties are creating lots of content on social media to influence and manipulate the viewss of people on goverments and political parties. Trolling is on of the major negative consequences of social media. Politically motivated trolling is also very common. The social media is also being used as a tool for data mining.

There are obviously many positives as well of Social media on human behaivour and on society such as giving access to varied opinions and thoughts of people of different cultures and different regions. This has the power to make people broad-minded, challenge stereotyped views on particular communities and develop mutual respect among people of different backgrounds. It allows us to expand knowledge through social media and most of the social media content creators encourage people to pursue career they love, to take care of themselves and learn new skills etc. That creates positive impact on human behaivour as it often really takes just someone to believe in one another for them to try their hardest or at least keep their head up. Traditional media was the only medium until recently to reach people. Not everyone could share their views and information with people. Most of the traditional media channels are in the hands of big businesses. Social media enriched democracy and equality by enabling everyone to send out their content to a larger audience. It also gives voice to minorities and vulnerable sections. For example more women are voicing their opinions through social media, who were otherwise not encouraged to speak up due to cultural norms. Another example is that differently-abled people are sharing content to encourage people who have the same problems, and are voicing their thoughts to goverment and society. People are collaborating for good. Tweeting by hashtags, they are pushing goverments to do their duties.  Though there are some negative effects, social media can be considered boon to society. However serious steps should be taken to mitigate the negative influences of social media like fake news, trolling etc. Cyber protection cells and AI together can solve these problems to a great extent. Along with that, ethical values should be imbibed in schools and colleges. Awarness programs help people to know about the good and bad sides of social media. I got the infor from these sites: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-media-impact-human-behavior-society-piyushi-jain#:~:text=Social%20media%20use%20has%20also,tendencies%20and%20behaviours%20in%20children.

https://islaahwellness.com/social-media-its-consumption-and-impact-on-human-behavior-and-society/

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What-is-the-impact-of-social-media-on-human-behavior  - I liked this thread because it’s like a discussion of people talking about it I have also looked at discussions between people on Reddit and Quora

[abdicatedarchive]

cream and sugar? || juliette and florence

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: juliette’s room // early march 2021.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: juliette x florence.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: none.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: florence texts juliette that she has bad news.

Florence hurried across campus to the dorm, climbing the stairs as fast as she could. Knocking on Juliette’s door, she hoped it was just her friend in there. She bent over, catching her breath, as she waited for Juliette to open the door. 

Juliette groaned as she peeled herself out of bed, she had been on a tiktok bender for over an hour and time has escaped her. She opened up the door, "Would you like some tea before you give me bad news?" she asked quietly with a soft smile on her face. She knew the news was going to be Stevie related, and she knew it wasn't going to be a fun twist where she got good news instead.

Once Florence got her breathing mostly under control, she stood up and smiled sadly at Juliette. She knew this news wouldn’t be fun. “Would it make you feel better to make tea?” she asked. If Juliette needed to busy herself, she would take whatever was offered.

"I would like to make tea" she said, nodding softly as she turned on her little pistachio colored electric kettle. One of her things that made her very happy. She pulled out two of her favorite mugs and her tea pot. "Alright, go ahead and tell me" she said as the water started to boil. She was terrified of the news, but she also figured it would be what she already knew: that there were other people in this world.

“Then I would love some,” Florence told her friend. Anything to help her stay calm. She sighed and followed her into the room, letting the door close behind them. She took a seat on Juliette’s bed, fussing with the comforter that matched her own. There was no easy way to say what she had heard, so she might as well spit it out. “Well, Wren told me that Stevie didn’t U-haul because she fell in love in high school, and she stopped really dating... until now,” she shared, hoping she paraphrased correctly. It was close enough. “He isn’t sure if they’re girlfriend/girlfriend, though, but his phrasing was that she’s kind of off the market.” She sighed again and looked over at her best friend, sadness etched all over her own face. “I’m sorry, Jules.”

She focused in on making tea. Everything else was spinning. "It's okay. I mean ... I could have told her I was here a few weeks ago and I didn't. She was probably already seeing her" said Juliette, swallowing hard. It was humbling for sure, but a lot of it was her own fault. She had been the one to call it quits. They wouldn't still be together regardless, something else would have come up. She was sure of it. It was all she had: doubling down on her decisions. Juliette poured the boiled water into her tea pot and started to steep the tea, "cream and sugar?" she asked, dodging how she was feeling.

Florence wasn’t sure what else to say. Yes, Juliette could have told Stevie she was here before, but what did that do now? She hadn’t asked how long the two girls had been dating, but if they were when Juliette arrived, Juliette would still get hurt. “That doesn’t make it any less hard,” Florence pointed out. She watched her friend pour the water into the tea pot. “Yeah, that’d be good, thanks.” Maybe Juliette wouldn’t want to talk about it or maybe she would. Either way, Florence was glad she had come to tell her in person. This way, she could be here to offer moral support and a shoulder if she needed it.

She was shutting down: she tried to make it that the only thing in her head be tea. "What's hard about it? I told her to move on and she did. I called it quits, and then I could have just gone to her when I saw her. If she's happy then I'm happy" she said with a sweet smile. Her brain felt like it was on fire. Her impulse to be perfection and put on a good face was overriding her emotions. Once the tea had steeped, she poured two cups and put in cream and sugar. Juliette brought the mug over to her, "Was that all?" she asked, doing her best to be as nonchalant as possible.

“That doesn’t matter. I know I don’t have the experience, but I’ve read enough books and seen enough rom coms to know that it hurts to see your ex with someone else, no matter who broke it off. Jules...” She paused, looking down at her hands. “I hate that I’m the bearer of bad news, but... I did the right thing telling you, right?” she asked. She looked up again as Juliette brought over the mugs. She took one carefully from her and held it in both hands. “That was all, I think. He talked about their shows and said I should bring my best friend by sometime. I didn’t tell him who you were; I didn’t think you’d want me to.”

Juliette took a small sip of her tea, it was still too hot. "Yeah, thank you" she replied, "I don't need him knowing I'm here." Juliette gulped a little bit of air, "It's like I'm not even here" she said as she looked down. Like she wasn't even here. Stevie's life had gone on like she didn't exist, and to her ... she didn't. And that was good. She was happy, she was settling down. Juliette only had herself to blame. "Thank you for telling me, but I don't think it changes anything" the girl added.

Florence sighed and chewed on her bottom lip. “I know. I’m here for you, though. Always hashtag Team Juliette. Would you want me to go to one of their shows for you?” She felt bad that Juliette felt the need to hide her presence at this school. College was meant to be a fresh start, and having Juliette transfer to join Florence was supposed to make the college experience more fun. “Do you want to watch a movie? We can watch About Time or you can pick something else.”

She had a feeling that she never had with Florence before: a need to be alone. She ignored it though, knowing that her being alone would only cause more damage than good. "I mean you should see them, the music is really good" she encouraged. It would be a fun event, and soon she would be able to go. She knew that at some point she could force herself to go, and watch another girl fawn over Stevie. That would be all too much for now. "I think I just want to listen to music and drink tea" said Juliette softly, her voice barely registering above a whisper. It felt like her throat was closing.

She tucked the thought of going to see Juliette’s ex’s band in the back of her mind. Maybe she would, but it would be more fun if she had Juliette to go with her. Lifting her mug, she blew on the hot beverage and tried to take a sip. “We can do that,” she said, matching Juliette’s tone and volume. She would just sit in silence with her friend—something she felt completely comfortable with.

She opened up her phone and connected to her bluetooth speakers. She put on an old playlist of Stevie's because what is having your own music taste? "I think that would be nice" said the girl as she sat up on the bed and took a sip of the tea. It was the right temperature now. Honestly, she felt very numb inside. All of her upset feelings had turned inwards: blaming herself for ever letting Stevie go, and for not telling her she was here. She knew it was important that she had let Stevie go two years ago, but how could it still hurt this much.

Florence adjusted her position on the girl's bed, scooting over a little to make more room for Juliette to join her. She tried not to look at Juliette too much because she didn't want to make her feel any worse or like she had to talk about it because that wasn't it at all. Florence was completely comfortable sitting in silence with her friend; she just worried that the girl might try to keep it all in. She took a drink of her tea, humming with satisfaction. Juliette was the one person who could get Florence to drink tea instead of coffee.

The girls sat in silence as they had their tea. Juliette just listened to the music and tried her best to not think of another girl loving Stevie. That was where the heart break really came in. It wasn't that she was having sex with people, she knew that was going to be something real the second they broke up. But it was the thought of her being really serious about someone after her. How she would learn from their relationship, and somehow be an even better Stevie with someone else. That they could enjoy college together, that they could wake up in the same small twin bed in a room filled with love and freedom. All the sweet joys that Juliette had thought of before but could not have with her. She would have to find someone else and experience a different love. She couldn't imagine experiencing any love but the love that was shared between her and Stevie. She thought it would last forever, but she was wrong. And that is what hurt so much. //END

[gigsoupmusic]

PUBLIC discusses TikTok fame and why people are falling in love with their story - Interview

If you look at PUBLIC the band's, Facebook page, you will see listed under their interests "You." The more you see from PUBLIC, the easier it realize that their interest really is the fans. Seeing the band perform live is electric, full of energy, and even acrobatics, a PUBLIC show becomes a true party. In an interview with GIGsoup, John Vaughn, the band's frontman, said this of their high energy act "I think that once people are in that room, we are kind of responsible for showing them a good time, letting them escape for a little bit. We don't really know any other way..." PUBLIC consists of three friends John, Ben, and Matt that met in their high school jazz orchestra class. What once was three classmates making music in orchestra or Ben's childhood basement has transformed into a music career in which they have opened for big names like Twenty One Pilots, AJR, and American Authors. "The three of us have been through a lot of different things, and all the while, it has been just like the three of us like you said having faith in each other and having faith in our music." Says John. People came to learn about this band of three friends from Cincinnati, Ohio, when their song 'Make You Mine' became a viral TikTok trend, being featured in over 2.5 million videos. This sudden TikTok fame has seen their streaming numbers for 'Make You Mine' grow over six million streams each week. I asked John the most significant thing to come from this sudden TikTok bump, and he told me it is that people are learning and loving their story as friends from high school that have been creating music for years. That's why people are interested in it beyond just liking the song. https://youtu.be/WMXPi4FXTXM "It's like wow, this band has a story. This band has been honing their craft for actual years now." John said, "This band has been opening for a lot of really big artists but haven't really done their thing yet or had their time." Aiming for positivity and being able to connect with people through their art PUBLIC, has a story that is still being told. The band recently signed with Kevin Jonas Sr.'s management group and their "dream record label," Island Records. These groups are all committed to helping PUBLIC take their act to the heights they have always dreamed of. I had the chance to talk with PUBLIC lead singer John Vaughn for an interview. We talked about where the band started, going viral on an app they had never heard of, working with a team of people versus self-production and releases, what to expect from PUBLIC in the future, and the song John most wants to cover on a future headlining tour. Read the full interview below. https://youtu.be/HG2tpVCPVaU Hi John, Thank you for taking the time with me today. I'm excited to talk to you. Now PUBLIC is on tour with American Authors and Magic Giant, and I saw you in Salt Lake City, and you guys were electric! Like I'm pretty sure I saw someone doing a flip at one point, and there was so much energy you had on stage. How has this tour been, and is that the energy you have always had on stage as a touring band? John Vaughn: Yeah! Well, first off, thank you for coming out to the show. We appreciate it. But yeah man, we kind of have like a creed or a code which is just like that we try to give the same show whether it is fifty people or it is twenty thousand people. We try to convey the same type of enthusiasm and energy every time. I don't know, it's like the people just show up, and it doesn't matter how many people show up, those people showed up to see you, they are there to enjoy music, they are there because they love your music, and you need to give them what they came for. I think that once people are in that room, we are kind of responsible for showing them a good time, letting them escape for a little bit. We don't really know any other way, we get up there, and kind of feed off each other and are full of energy. We're hyper, and we are musicians, and so energy is just kind of our thing. I wanted to talk about some of that energy and chemistry PUBLIC has as a band. I read how you met in high school in a jazz orchestra class. If someone would have told you back then that you three would still be creating music together, what would you have told them? John: We never really had a different plan. Obviously, we have been very realistic, and this is a really hard industry to break into, and we have been, I would say doing this professionally since a little after high school. As in like we have been working with other people and releasing music professionally and stuff. But I don't know man, it's like very surprising because we are working with our dream label now (Island Records,) and we're getting to do the things that we have always seen other "real bands" do, and we are doing that stuff now, and it's truly surreal. But at the same time like I said, we never really had an alternative plan, and we have always really believed in the music we've done. Which is because we have always put everything we have into the songs. For the longest time, we also just wrote, recorded, and produced everything ourselves. It has always been a really DIY project for a very long time, so it is really cool and also very fresh and new for us to be now doing things that involve other people and like this is the first tour that we've been on where we actually have a lot of other things happening outside of tour. Like tour is just one of a few different irons of the fire that we have going on, and that is totally totally new for us. I'd like to say it is surprising, but at the same time, I have always believed in what we're doing. I love the belief that you have had in yourself and each other as a band. What has been the most rewarding part of creating together for so long? John: I think it would specifically be that we trust each other, and I think we have all learned how to exist with each other. It's a lot like a relationship that you might have with somebody. You have to learn how to argue, and how to be honest with each other, and learn how to go through really tough things. I think we have really done that now. The three of us have been through a lot of different things, and all the while, it has been just like the three of us like you said having faith in each other and having faith in our music. It's kind of hard to pick one thing but the most rewarding thing, but I would say I had an experience at one of the shows on this tour where this really young girl came up to me and told me that she turns on our music when she feels sad and that it immediately makes her happy. For some reason just that little girl saying that to me because I was just picturing her in her room having a bad day and then turning on a PUBLIC song and she was crying when she said it to me she was crying and like giggling at the same time and sort of couldn't really control herself, and it actually made me start to cry to and I had to like hide my face while I was finding something. It was very humbling because you can kind of lose sight of why you're really doing this when you're like on the road and it's tiring, and you're doing TV, and all this stuff and people try to make you feel like you are cooler than you are. But at the end of the day, some little girl coming up to me and saying that "Your music literally brightens my day." It's very humbling and I don't ever get used to that and like I need to hear that more and more, sometimes you get too wrapped up in like the business side of music business that sometimes you forget how much it impacts someone emotionally. That is one big reward. That's a great point. I love that you said that. I think a lot of the way PUBLIC is able to connect with people through your music comes from the connection you have as a band. https://youtu.be/nLnp0tpZ0ok I have to ask John, does 'Make You Mine' get stuck in your head as easy as it does mine? John: I think, um maybe. Well, probably not like it does yours because it is our song. But the thing I think that we are experiencing right now is that there is so much content that we are doing right now with the song and so much content that we are seeing online and in different places with the song. It's kind of like whether we like it or not we are hearing it at least one hundred times a day it feels like. I almost can't tell if it is in my head or playing off of someone's phone in our van or something. I follow the hashtag #makeyoumine, and I think I see that song set to like 25 different videos each day just scrolling down my Instagram timeline. It's an ear-worm. I don't hate it yet (laughs.) Like people talk about that like "oh, we got tired of our own song!" and we have always been like "Wow, that sounds like a great problem to have." You know, to us, it's like that's our baby out in the world that has all of a sudden become other people's baby. So a big part of that content you mention seeing your song everywhere is from 'Make You Mine' become a major TikTok trend. How did this whole TikTok thing happen with 'Make You Mine'? John: The thing with that is like we didn't start it, it wasn't engineered by us or anything. We didn't even know what TikTok was, and to this day, I don't think we really know who did the first video that went viral. We talked to some TikTok influencers these days, and they've talked to us about like the first time they made one with it. But we don't really know where it started. We just started to see a really nice spike in our streaming numbers at first, and we were kind of like you know like 'Make You Mine' has always been a fan favorite and stuff, but our fanbase just hasn't been that big... and now people started tagging us in videos and sometimes it was like somebody was posting a TikTok on Instagram, and we would see that and their logo and we started to wonder what that was. Then we saw like a montage of like the characters from your favorite movie like Harry and Hermoine from Harry Potter, and it was set to 'Make You Mine,' and we were like "this is so internet, what is this?" Then obviously after a few months are team started to take notice too because it was just becoming too big for us to not try to do something with it. Long story short, the sound has been used over two million times, and TikTok we started contacting people that worked with TikTok to make sure our name was on the song, which is actually a good point because right when we first started seeing the videos, nobody knew that it was by a band. It is crazy how a song can just exist out there in the world, and no one really cares who wrote and recorded it and performs it. So I think I spent like a whole couple of days one time and compiled a list of videos using the sound and just said, "Hey, this is our song. There are thousands and thousands of videos, and our song name isn't on any of it. How do we change this?" They were really awesome, and that's when the dots started to connect, and people were like "Oh, this is by PUBLIC. They are a band that is active and have energy and are out there now releasing music and playing shows." https://youtu.be/LIBi7RMEy-g So I interviewed someone that won the TV show The Voice. I tweeted out the article, and he retweeted it and all of a sudden before I knew it I had a bunch of follows and retweets from a bunch of older fans of the voice that were on Twitter. So there was this bump from The Voice, and you've talked about seeing this increase in streaming numbers. But just how crazy has this TikTok bump been for streaming, for your shows, and for PUBLIC? John: It's been crazy specifically because that story that we are a band out of Cincinnati, Ohio that has been independent for a really long time and hasn't really broken per se, and the story that we are a band that has been doing that and all of a sudden had a song that has exploded on TikTok which is a new app, and that is really why it has been crazy. That's why people are interested in it beyond just liking the song. It's like wow, this band has a story. This band has been honing their craft for actual years now. This band has been opening for a lot of really big artists but haven't really done their thing yet or had their time. So people like Kelly and Ryan, getting us to play was like our first national TV debut. It was really the story that they loved was us as high school friends that started a band, and now our song is everywhere because of this crazy app that is also everywhere. So that is really the gem of it right now. It is just kind of this interesting path for a band to go on. https://youtu.be/1cOUo5XzRN0 It really is an interesting story. You talked about your story is also still being written now and is focused on how to evolve next. PUBLIC has been self-releasing things for a long time, what has it been like working with a team like Kevin Jonas Sr. and like you mentioned earlier your dream record label with Island Records. What has it been like working with them compared to on your own? John: I mean, just first and foremost, they crush it. Like Island, their team is incredible, and that's really why we went with Island Records. We had immediate chemistry, and we liked from our first conversation with them they were talking about vision and where we want to go with the band rather than like "you guys are having this little flash in the pan moment right now, and we want to capitalize on it" it was very much like you guys have put in the work and you guys have been around we want to help take you guys for the long run. So obviously that has been radio promo and marketing help, and I'd say marketing has kind of been our weakest thing just because we've never had a team around us. Having people getting us TV spots, and doing interviews now, or podcasts, and we've never touched anything like that before. So they have crushed it there, and it is also like this co-laboring thing, you know? They want to come in and like take what we are doing and expand it. They want to blow it up, while also like providing us with anything that we need to make that happen. Which does include guidance strategically a lot of the time, too, which is cool and very new. Then obviously Kevin Jonas Sr. is a very connected man, but back to the brass tax with him too from our first conversation, we liked Kevin because he is a good guy. We have met a lot of people in this industry, and a lot of people that have not seemed trustworthy to be honest with you and I think it is an industry that can really bring the worst out of people because there is a lot of potential money involved and you really have to be careful. From the get-go though with Kevin, we could sense his passion for music. Music excited him, his eyes lit up when he talked about songwriting or singing, and just obviously the stuff he did with his sons too. Back when they were first starting out, I loved that threshold they were at and it was just great chemistry. All the while, it has been very new though, because we have been so self-sustaining for the longest time. We're not just learning how this works. We are also learning how to let other people come in and like help us. We just haven't had that before. We haven't really known how to let other people do that for us. https://youtu.be/ldElCttO1kk Again, I love your story and just how you got in contact with Kevin Jonas Sr. and I won't make you retell the story, but basically, your dad randomly sat by someone at a conference that knew him and was telling him about your band, and a connection was made. What is next, and what are you excited for in this amazing story? John: PUBLIC's story I think because 'Make You Mine' isn't that new of a song (laugh) the app just kind of breathed new life into it. At the same time, it's interesting because we have been pushing a song and have more current things that are unreleased. I would say for PUBLIC's story. I would say that I am excited to like we are kind of thinking about maybe putting together a whole new body of work, which is a whole new process with like a record label involved. I'm really excited for us to put our next foot forward. Some of the music that we've written recently we've been finding times to write on the road and we are beyond excited about it and it's so fresh and so new feeling. At the same time, we feel like this new audience that we are receiving is really going to love it, and that is really really freaking exciting. For me, I am working on navigating the balance of art and commerce with label life. I'm just learning how to be a very positive person in this industry. I hope that anyone I come in contact with feels like I'm a good guy and someone they can trust. I want my eyes to be on the right things, which is art and human connection and just kind of being there for each other. Now, John, I have a question I ask in every interview before we close. I am very interested in real musicians that play on stages all over the world, one if they are interested in doing karaoke, and two what their go-to song would be? Do you have a go-to karaoke song? John: Dang! Dude, I don't know if I have a go-to song so, I will just say what my last one was. I was downtown with my family, and I think it was back in the summer and my younger brother and I did 'We Will Rock You' really late and here is the thing... like no one can do Freddy Mercury, and Queen is just so incredible, and that's not even my favorite Queen song. Anyway, we had this thought that if we go up there and just really sell it that everyone will get riled up. It's like the National Anthem for white people... like "We Will Rock You" and we went so hard and I actually think it had the opposite effect. We were doing 'We Will Rock You' and I think people actually liked it less because we were taking it so seriously. We ended up walking out and it was a totally weird situation, but it was so funny, and we were laughing. So I don't know man if that's a go-to but 'We Will Rock You' was a challenge. That's the perfect story, and it brings up one more question. Did you do the stomp stomp clap in the song? John: Yes! Yes! Like no, we ripped right into it, and I like was in the crowd. I was like, "Okay, I do this for a living, I can get a group of people who have had a few drinks to rally behind us" and that is just not what happened. Very humbling. That's amazing! Is there any chance that will be covered by PUBLIC in the future? (laughs) John: I will absolutely say that I have pitched that to Matt and Ben probably about sixty times. I think they are right. Their response is always if we do a headlining show and have some momentum and people that will get behind it then that is probably the time. So I am like okay that's fine. Well when that day comes on your headlining tour, I'll be there stomp stomp clapping right along with you. John: (Laughs) I expect it... front row and you've got to back me up. I appreciate your time John and I am so excited to see as the PUBLIC story continues to be told. John: Yeah man! Thank you so much for your time. That was a great interview. Great questions! Check out more from PUBLIC on their Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Read the full article