#YouTube link shortener

[urltyco]

How URL Shorteners Can Help Your SEO Efforts

To increase organic traffic to your website and improve search engine rankings as an online business or website owner, you must improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) activities. Although there are many strategies to boost your SEO, one tactic that is sometimes disregarded is the use of URL shorteners. This blog post will discuss the benefits of using URL shorteners for SEO purposes as well as some best practices.

What are URL shorteners?

URL shorteners are tools that convert long and complex URLs into shorter and more manageable links. These shorter links can be used for sharing on social media, email marketing, or any other online platform. URL shorteners are typically used to save space and make links more aesthetically pleasing.

How URL Shorteners Help Your SEO Efforts

Better User Experience

URL shorteners can improve user experience on your website by making it easier for users to remember and share your links. Shorter links are also easier to read and more likely to be clicked on. This increased engagement can lead to more traffic and better search engine rankings.

Easier Sharing

With shorter links, it becomes easier to share links on social media platforms that have character limitations, like Twitter. A shorter link also looks more professional and less spammy, which increases the chances of people clicking on the link.

Improved Click-Through Rate (CTR)

URL shorteners can also help improve your click-through rate (CTR) in search engine results pages (SERPs). A shorter link is more eye-catching and easier to read, which can entice more clicks from users. This increased CTR can lead to better search engine rankings as search engines like Google consider CTR as a ranking factor.

Tracking and Analytics

Many URL shorteners come with tracking and analytics features that can help you track the number of clicks on your links. This information can be used to measure the success of your marketing campaigns and improve your overall SEO strategy.

Custom Branded Short URLs

Using a custom-branded short URL can also improve your SEO efforts. By using a branded short URL, you increase brand recognition and help with link attribution. This can lead to more traffic and better search engine rankings.

Best Practices for Using URL Shorteners

Use a reputable and reliable URL shortener. Some URL shorteners may be seen as spammy or harmful by search engines, which can negatively impact your SEO efforts.

Use a custom-branded short URL whenever possible. This not only looks more professional, but it also increases brand recognition and helps with link attribution.

Avoid using too many shortened links on your website. This can make your website look spammy and untrustworthy.

Always include a descriptive keyword in your URL. This helps search engines understand the content of your page and can improve your search engine rankings.

Example :

"https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Multiplatform-Wireless-Noise-Cancelling-Xbox-X/dp/B0BX77C1LD/ref=sxin_16_sbv_search_btf?content-id=amzn1.sym.b000e0a0-9e93-480f-bf78-a83c8136dfcb%3Aamzn1.sym.b000e0a0-9e93-480f-bf78-a83c8136dfcb&cv_ct_cx=gaming+headsets&keywords=gaming+headsets&pd_rd_i=B0BX77C1LD&pd_rd_r=a9a3cb29-8ee0-4768-bd8d-eb8b5c60f294&pd_rd_w=S5Jxv&pd_rd_wg=2g8Mz&pf_rd_p=b000e0a0-9e93-480f-bf78-a83c8136dfcb&pf_rd_r=N0ZXSKASA5C2V185Q70B&qid=1683364941&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-1-5190daf0-67e3-427c-bea6-c72c1df98776"

this is a very large link and if you want to share with someone via social media, email it's not going to look nice but if you shorten this link using urlty.co you will get this : https://urlty.co/SdVq

2. "https://twitter.com/Cobratate/status/1615412288617385986?s=20" same with this link after shortening it : https://urlty.co/ajES

Finally, URL shorteners might be a useful tool for enhancing your SEO campaigns. URL shorteners can help you increase organic traffic to your website and raise your search engine rankings by enhancing user experience, raising click-through rates, offering tracking and analytics, and employing custom-branded short URLs. In order to prevent any detrimental effects on your SEO, just make sure to adhere to best practices and utilize a credible and trustworthy URL shortener.

[creativecollectiongarden]

How to Open Shareus Links

[catgirltoofies]

link shortening

okay. let me tell you one of my pet peeves. it's when you send a link to something and the link takes up a full paragraph. amazon is especially egregious with this; as an example, i'm going to use the sweet essentials goat milk & honey perfume. here's the link i get if i just copy/paste it:

https://www.amazon.com/Goat-Honey-Fragrance-Perfume-Organic/dp/B07D5N4XRP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=368RN4BTXC5R9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0tHv-eu2F7iPFRQB2q9yXdLcYOv4rURViCCRfaecKCxZGmUW01KbdXZU3Q1GrGr9CUE97ZgO2tqSFilCtwDhBDwZrkPHvIwyX3KwtbHn1H2BjGo6Kv2RNKzHD4vUn6cdGQvpxat_DCpR1LJaDNrxuYElr7x_GZHixDS4r3SWdrQ67ov2O0MBOQ3F7vH9sclQyOCOsPB-xuzdAbugWTjAw7PODjXTSswWuLJG56uZkMUaJ5ob8xIEy6tpHvu21E8uYKJtnWdyGBoK5Wd5mo7S3urQt-rJX9twnr3RwS0Kk_s.kW9z0gieuOP4prMF2tSrHmrMuB8XObk-xguJ8Cub1YI&dib_tag=se&keywords=sweet+essentials+goat+milk+and+honey+perfume&qid=1726618258&sprefix=sweet+essentials+goat+milk+and+honey+perfume%2Caps%2C58&sr=8-1

do you see this shit? that link is longer than my introduction paragraph. and most of it is totally unnecessary and just gives amazon tracking data. so i'm going to quick breakdown the link:

https://www.amazon.com/ is the domain. this tells your browser to go to the internet, to amazon's address. can't do without.

Goat-Honey-Fragrance-Perfume-Organic/dp/B07D5N4XRP/ is the sort of directory. this is where the meat of the link is; it gives the browser the information of where in the amazon domain it should look for what you're looking for. sort of like when you ask a librarian where a book is and they say "it's in this area of the library, i can show you if you like"

every single thing after that is optional. most, if not all, of it is just tracking data that tells amazon who looked it up, how, where they found it, etc. etc. and you can totally safely remove it.

so, our final, shortened link is:

https://www.amazon.com/Goat-Honey-Fragrance-Perfume-Organic/dp/B07D5N4XRP/

and you can test it for yourself, both the really long link and this nice clipped link lead to the same page. this is generally applicable to most websites; if a link feels a little too long, experiment and start removing bits off the end. generally anything that shows up after "?[text]=" is probably safe to remove, as with "&[text]=". sometimes those have particular jobs, though; for example, youtube links with a particular timestamp will include "&t=[number]s" and while removing this will keep the link to the video, it will remove the timestamp. similarly, youtube sometimes uses "&v=[text]" to encode the id of a video, so without that you're left with just the youtube homepage. if a link has "?si=[text]", that's all safe to remove, because that's pure tracking data.

in short: clip your links. don't give them any more than you need to. experiment a little. have fun and be yourself. i love you

[penny-anna]

seen some good rickrolls today but i have to ask, have we all forgotten the art of using a URL shortener to make it less obvious that it's a youtube link? personally I recommend TinyUrl or T.LY if you want a really itty bitty link.

[winxwannabe]

Winx Season 9/Reboot Leaks

Okay here's the tea: earlier today a twitter user by the name of Cataclysm_Power started posting a video they claimed was from the new Winx season/reboot. When pressed for further information, they linked to a telegram chat with what appeared to be assets from Rainbow (17 screenshots/2 videos). After some C-grade internet sleuthing, I am here to give my (worthless and possibly wrong) opinion on which ones I think are real and fake.

A note before we jump in: I'm not posting full images on my blog, because again I do think some of these are real and if the leaker is to be believed, they hacked Rainbow to get them. You can look yourself through the telegram link, or others who've posted them on the Winx Club tag. I also think the leaker themselves is scammy because they've tried charging for Miraculous leaks before. Do NOT give them any money if they ask.

Real: Bloom, Stella, and Icy's asset sheets, Bloom Full Body Pose

A lot of these leaks are 3d modelling assets, and these 3 are the ones I'm totally convinced are real.

The biggest clue of their validity is the bottom banner. All 3 sheets have them, along with the same episode code and notes in Italian. They're all also linked to the same person: Pasqualino Masciulli is Rainbow's 3D modelling supervisor, and has been with the company for at least 9 years. He's done videos on Rainbow's youtube channel as well, using his shortened first name Lino. My main point is that's way too niche for someone to fake just to make some convincing leaks, and it would make sense for the assets to be tied to him.

Likewise, there's a full-body frame post of Bloom with fucking ugliest denim leg warmers credited to a g.riccobono. This is likely Giulio Riccobono, who is listed on Linkedin Italy as a Rainbow employee.

Probably Real: Tecna's asset sheet, Bloom's detailed asset sheet

Both of these are likely real but have weird things about them that make me pause. Bloom's more detailed asset sheet is missing the name, date and episode reference on it, and the notes are in English. Tecna's is missing the bottom banner entirely, and there's some weird cutting around her head that makes it look like someone hastily made a png and stuck it on there.

Unsure: Computer File Tab, MD Concept Photos, Videos

There's a screenshot of a folder with both 2D and 3D assets of all the girls. in the files. I'm not sure if this is from a computer at Rainbow or the hacker's personal folder, so it goes in unsure. I do think most of the assets in it are real - it's low res but the eyes on the 2D sketches are so similar to the ones on Rainbow's newer images of the girls I think they have to be connected.

There are also some full body concept photos for Bloom, Aisha, and Stella. They all look pretty legit (as they're updated version of images we've already seen) but Stella's has other images for 'possible pallets' included. She's the only one with it and the images look like they came from a flash dress-up game, and it gives me pause.

Lastly, the teaser videos of Bloom are probably real based on the outfit, animation and that stupid fucking Bloom shelf being in the background, but I'm placing it in 'unsure' because of the bandicam.com logo burned into the top. If it really came from Rainbow and everything else was downloaded, there was no reason for the hacker to not get the raw file. I think it's real, but I don't know if it came from Rainbow.

Something Ain't Right: Group Shot

What gives me pause in the fully-rendered group shot (even though its shown in the computer file tab) is it shows transformation we haven't seen teased and has a 'Lorem Ipsum' placeholder text. Aisha's hair also looks like it was done with AI - the back of her wings clip through the hair, and parts of it look copy-pasted. I'm stupid, it's the end of her braids. The 'Lorem Ipsum' thing still stands, but I'm re-filing this under 'unsure.'

Probably Fake: Darcy and Damien's asset sheets

I'm showing things from here on out because I'm so convinced it's fake please let me be right. Unlike the other character sheets, the ones for Darcy and 'new character' Damien have no bottom banner, are marked as 'Winx Club Season 9' with an outdated Winx logo, and have notes written completely in English. Darcy's has a bit of 3D modelling, but it's too different from Icy's. Maybe they're super early concepts for Darcy, but Damien...go home, buddy.

You're in the Wrong Place: Rainbow Pants Girl

I'm convinced this girl is from a different show and was saved to the 'Winx Club' folder by accident. Different clothing, hair, and shading. May you end up somewhere better than this reboot, Mystery Girl.

[psychick69]

MY CARDIGAN IS FINISHED!!! I made him too oversized though. I'll have to shorten the sleeves.

Spiderweb added by mee.

Pattern for cardigan by youtube channel it's erin b.

Link to the video:

I won't be able to wear this in the summer, unless at night. But I do look forward to autumn!!

[sageourplanetmeow]

Indie Animations I Recommend

Haven’t posted in a while since, as I have said, my Apple Pencil broke and I haven’t been able to work on commissions or that one hazbin hotel animation… which I was actually getting through for once. Also I have fallen into a Varian And The Seven Kingdoms obsession.

Anyhow I shall now take the chance to share a couple indie animations I’ve watched/been watching recently possibly with a brief note about what kind of audience would enjoy it (might not be accurate I dunno)

First and foremost The Epilogue Of Endings which released approximately 12 hours ago as of when I’m writing this. And just before I summarise anything I just want to praise this pilot for HOW AMAZING IT IS DESPITE ITS SMALL BUDGET! The animation is fantastic and I swear something about it makes me so happy. The art style is also amazing (in my opinion) and suits the character designs perfectly. I love the character designs, just saying, and the voice acting is superb. I think my favourite designs from it are Blu (because I mean the mask and metal arms are pretty damn cool) and the ————. I won’t say who they are because the reveal is too good to miss, but you might be able to guess who I’m talking about if you’ve watched it.

Now to say what happens. This takes place after the sun ya know, goes. I think I’m probably the most interested by what exactly is going on with Mole but I think my favourite character thus far is Blu. I suggest you go watch it, it’s very cool. I think if you like Indie animation in general then this is a good pic due to its indie feel (positive). Also would suggest to people who enjoy slightly creepy media (it’s not that creepy in my opinion but it does feature the downfall of humanity and what happens after the sun dies so it’s slightly unsettling, it masters that feeling).

And here’s their Kickstarter

We also have Dreamworld which also has a season 2, I’m just linking the first one though so just so you know you can find the second season on the channel. As said by the creator, it borrows certain tropes/aspects from analogue horror and has animatronics. As it says up there it is a sci-fi horror series that is intended to be accessible to younger fans of the genre. Again, I love the story and the character designs. So far, my favourite character and character design belongs to THE Star Light. I’m starting to see a theme with me liking sun/moon/star themed animatronics. I mean this guy has a BOW TIE and a charming smile. If I wasn’t already dressing up as Varian for Halloween then I think I would’ve looked into trying to dress as Star Light.

The pilot hasn’t released but the animation from this teaser is SO GOOD! I’m excited to see the pilot. There’s also been music/songs released by them, I can’t remember if I’ve gotten around to listening to any but I fully intend on doing so.

I’m sorry but how is the animation this good with only one person animating it (I might’ve gotten that wrong). I find the character designs really cool and the art style is fun. They’re in space. The voice acting is good. Also just gonna say, they have merch.

This is Dungeon Flippers, a fantasy real-estate cartoon following Maulie, a manticore. (I copied and shortened down the description of the YouTube channel)

The animation is great and the voice acting is really good. The story is interesting and The Ace Of Wands Theme is a joy to listen to every time.

I don’t know how to describe the plot but lemme just… the animation deserves praise, it suits the vibe of the pilot and the character designs are amazing. Voice acting is also fun and I’d recommend this even if it’s just sea side/coast vibes you’re looking for.

This one is a YouTube channel that posts OC animatics and has posted Sundrop and Moondrop animations, just saying I think they drew the Sun and Moon Q&A comics soooo that was my introduction to their work.

Just watch this and you will see some PEAK animation.

Again, the animation is awesome.

https://youtu.be/XPE3nTxV2_k?si=Rgd5yBL9_B-Fl5i7

And that’s where the video limit comes, alas, but check it out. It’s by Meppity and has some really good paper looking animation.

And this is where we have the indie animated stuff (I consider it that at least) centred around pre-existing shows.

I myself am looking forward to making my own indie animated stuff or comics (I haven’t really decided, I’m just working on different characters whilst also writing fanfics and drawing fan comics and other art stuff on top of art homework. YAY

Here is one… dated… animation I did a year ago which took me a while.

https://youtu.be/jmteRdRgHWI?si=o-p-l9gheLSkw7Xr

It’s for an OC, but with their old design. The new design has a satchel, otherwise nothing changed to be honest. I also have done another animation which was far more rough but it was me animating whilst seeing who would win the election so it’s political and not about any of my ocs or any actual characters. As I said, I already have another animation in the works for Alastor so I have to wait till my Apple Pencil gets fixed or replaced to continue working on it.

[linettefox]

My interpretation of the Precure lore, if anyone cares. Reposting this from my Twitter thread.

Full Interpretation of Precure-Verse

Yes! Although inconsistent between seasons. I'm actually trying to make a series of videos on my channel that's a whole Precure lore dump!! Allow me to dump some of it here too.

Precure exists in a system of multiverse and parallel worlds all connected by portals and various means of transportation powered by the Prism Flower. This flower was destroyed once and is implied to have been birthed from the Heart Tree.

The universe was created by the 12 Star Princesses who reside in the Star Palace at the center of the Starry Sky Galaxy. They gave people imaginations, but there secret 13th sister didn't like that and became evil.

When the floral sea was destroyed on Mother RaPaPa's final breath she mentioned the Pretty Cure. This was the first instance of the legendary warriors being named. A few years later 10,000 years ago when the world was ruled by darkness and monsters the first Precure team emerged+

Earth has two origin stories. In Happiness Charge canon the god Blue created it but in Mahoutsukai canon it started as the floral sea created by Mother RaPaPa. I actually plan to theorize how this works in my upcoming YouTube series but to shorten that my theory is that +

When the floral sea was destroyed and split into Magic and Non magic worlds. Perhaps the non magic one was uninhabitable after everything and Blue simply took that broken rock and turned it into planet Earth. This theory raises questions but it's the one I use.

THE LIST:

Cure Empress, Cure Priestess and Cure Magician are the first documented cures to have existed. There are several other teams that popped up after them all the face their respective evils. I actually made a list of all the legendary cures in order, some are just estimates though.

8000 BC <- Cure Magician, Cure Empress, Cure Priestess

1020 <- Cure Oasis, Cure Flora, Cure Mermaid, Cure Twinkle

1524 <- Cure Ange

1724 <- Cure Mirage, Cure Noble

1924 <- Cure Lumiere

1936 <- Cure Earth

1960 <- Cure Rose

1960 - 2000 <- Cure Flower, Cure Tender

2000 - ??? <- Cure Moonlight, Cure Sword, etc (Past cures that joined main teams)

So what exactly is a Precure? They're legendary warriors, magicians, patisseries and super heroes. How their powers work is inconsistent but I have my theories. In general they just seem to be miracles, like the legendary power is needed to save the day and poof they a cure now.

They also get power ups and weapons through miracles as well. (Or more like Precure create miracles)

Anyone can be a Precure the only requirements seem to be the drive to protect and ability to never give up. A little courage and some hope may be needed but I don't think they are required as much as the other two are.

Most of the legendary cures if not all have failed to defeat the villains once and for all. This is why each year their predecessors are born to finish the job. Since Cure Black and Cure White's debut every team has been successful.

I actually nicknamed the in universe era from 2004 onward as the Precure renaissance since it was when the cures started to peak.

There is so much other lore I want to share but I have rambled long enough.

LINK:

[urltyco]

Why you should use Link Shortener?

Online marketers, bloggers, and users of social media are all increasingly using link shorteners. However, what precisely is a link shortener and why would you want to use one? We'll look at the advantages of link shorteners and the reasons you might want to use one in this blog post.

A link shortener: What is it?

A link shortener is a tool that converts a large, complex URL into a more manageable, shorter link. The original URL is often represented by a distinct domain name and a string of letters or digits in abbreviated links.

Link shorteners were initially created for use on social media sites like Twitter, where posts could only be a certain number of characters long. Users were able to publish more content in their posts while still staying inside the character restriction thanks to shortened links. Link shorteners, however, have since gained popularity for a variety of internet marketing and content-sharing uses.

Why Use a Link Shortener? There are several reasons why you might want to use a link shortener:

Shorter Links are More Visually Appealing Long, complicated URLs can be difficult to read and look messy in written or digital content. A shorter, more visually appealing link can make your content look more professional and be easier to share.

Shorter Links are Easier to Remember Shorter links are easier to remember than long URLs. This can be especially useful if you need to share links verbally or in print. A memorable link can also make it easier for users to find your content later on.

Shorter Links can Save Space Some platforms, such as Twitter, have character limits. Using a link shortener can help you save valuable characters, allowing you to share more content in your posts. Shorter links can also be useful in email marketing campaigns, where space is limited.

Shorter Links are Easier to Track Many link shorteners provide analytics and tracking data, so you can see how many clicks your links are getting, where those clicks are coming from, and other valuable data. This information can be used to optimize your content and improve your marketing efforts.

Shorter Links can Improve SEO Using a link shortener can make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site. Shortened links can also help to eliminate duplicate content, which can be beneficial for SEO.

Using a Link Shortener

It's simple to use a URL shortener. To shorten a lengthy URL, just copy it and paste it into the link shortener tool. A shortened link that you can use in your content will thereafter be generated by the program.

Other capabilities offered by some link shorteners include password protection, link expiration, and the capacity to edit links that were previously created.

Conclusion

For web marketers and content producers, link shorteners have many advantages. They can improve your content's visual appeal, recall ability, and tracking. In addition, using a link shortener can reduce page size and boost your SEO. So, a link shortener can be a useful tool to have in your toolbox if you're looking to optimize your content and improve your online marketing efforts.

[syn4k]

digital media i watched this year that i really really enjoyed: a (non-exhaustive, non-ranked) list

hi everyone! ray keys here. i'm writing this on Dec 21st because I know I'll forget to post this on time if I don't schedule it beforehand.

i don't watch things on streaming services because i don't have any of the apps downloaded on my phone and most shows just aren't my thing anyways (ATLA has been the only exception) so all of the links here go to YouTube or other (free) sites

here we go!

Misc. Series and Standalone Videos

17776

17776 is a multimedia webnovel (?) about American football in the year of, you guessed it, 17776, written in 2017 by Jon Bois. It's told through the communications of three space probes made by humans and it's genuinely comforting as someone who's generally terrified by the concepts of eternity and immortality. Trigger warning for unreality at the start.

17776

20020 (the sequel, written in 2020 by the same author)

Code MENT

Code MENT is a YouTube series made by PurpleEyesWTF, of which the first episode was released in 2010. It's a fan-made abridgMENT of the anime Code Geass, voiced entirely by one guy (or at least i think so), and some parts of it have become legendary (see: Soup Store). Trigger warning for murder, infrequent use of the R slur, and depictions of blood and gore.

Code MENT playlist

Star Wars The Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West

Star Wars the Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West, uploaded to YouTube by GratefulDeadpool in 2017, is a video where somebody put the entire script of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in Google Translate, translated it to Chinese then back to English, and dubbed over it. Yes, it's the entire movie. No, it somehow hasn't been taken down yet.

Star Wars the Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West

Mianite (S1)

At least some of you should be familiar with Mianite, seeing as how it has taken over my entire blog over the past month or so. The World of Mianite is a vanilla Minecraft SMP launched in 2014. It was streamed live, but the recordings of those livestreams were later uploaded to YouTube. The main members of the serverlist are CaptainSparklez, II_JERIICHO_II, SynHD, and OmgItsFirefoxx. Mianite has had three seasons so far, but I've only watched the first from one perspective so that's what you guys are going to get.

CaptainSparklez' Mianite S1 Playlist

MAMASb0y's Mianite Animations Playlist

Mianite Purge Highlights Playlist

Alan Becker (and his Team)'s Work

Hi! This channel gets a special section all to itself because I just finished the Animation vs Minecraft series and I'm pretty sure my life has been irreversibly changed forever.

Animator Vs Animation

Animator Vs Animation (shortened: AVA or AvA) is an animated YouTube series by Alan Becker. The first episode was originally posted in 2006 and was later reuploaded to the platform in 2018. I recently binged the entire thing and was NOT expecting it to be as fucking incredible as it was. This is the de facto best place to start if you want to jump into Alan's other works featuring these characters, which I highly recommend because all of them are fantastic!

Animator Vs Animation Series Playlist

Animation Vs Minecraft

The stick men play the block game. Do not read the comments of any of the episodes until you have finished the entire series. Do not go in with any prior knowledge if you're able to. Set yourself up with a bowl of popcorn and a big ol' glass of ice water, sit back, look really closely for continuity because it is there and it is GLORIOUS, and enjoy.

Animator Vs Minecraft Series Playlist

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Based on your recent answer about why you watch BL in which you mentioned many narratives like to punish lesbians with death, I wanted to prompt you to speak on that a bit more if you're willing. I will wait here chin in hands for when/if this is interesting to you because it's a bugbear of mine and I'd love to read your thoughts!

Hello Twiggy! (can I call you that? What should we shorten your url to? t-t?) 

Anyway, I would be happy to speak more on that!

To establish my lens, I am a Westerner, I grew up with no queer elders, and did not really realize I was queer until after I graduated college, so my experience with queer media was limited at best. I know there are films and television out there where the sapphics live, and there are films and televisions where I am completely fine with a queer character dying. I am not a “if any queer character dies they are burying the gays!” kind of person. 

Now, I’ll admit that when I wrote that in my answer, I was mostly saying it based on knowledge of the tumblr discourse I’ve observed over the past decade I have been on this fucking website. In other words, I didn’t know the full extent of the issue, because to be perfectly honest, despite the absurd amount of television I do watch, seeing queer women in my shows has been few and far between. I don’t think I saw a girl kiss another girl until I stumbled upon the YouTube web-series Carmilla in high school. SO, your ask required me to do a little bit more research. 

Here is a link to an article listing 230 dead lesbian and bisexual characters and their causes of death which include toxic envelope glue in Seinfeld??? The list is so long that the article is split up in to FOUR PAGES!

Here are a couple of names from shows I either have seen or recognize: 

Tara Maclay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Lexa in The 100 

Tosha in The Wire

Poussey in Orange is the New Black (which I will absolutely never forgive this show for) 

Toshiko Sato in Torchwood 

June Stahl in Sons of Anarchy

Patty O’Farrel and Veronica Cortes in La Reina del Sur

Jamilah Olsen in Black Lightining

Dani in The Haunting of Bly Manor

I do not want to count how many times I have seen the words “died in her girlfriends arms” in this list, and I’m only a page and a half in. I do not want to count how many times I have read “Cause of Death: shot/stabbed/blown up/murdered/throat slit” I have seen three separate queer women from True Blood on this list, three separate queer women from Boardwalk Empire, four from Orange is the New Black, four from Killing Eve. The cause of death for a character named Emily in Teen Wolf is five lines long. We know how Supernatural is about killing women and killing queers, and killing queer women (there are three on this list I’ve seen so far). And there are some truly convoluted deaths in here, and unsurprising a number of the most fucked up ones are…you guessed it, committed against queer women of color. 

And there are plenty on this list from like…American Horror Story, or like Scream, or you know other shows with very obvious ‘this is kind of an everyone dies’ situation. Like I’m not surprised if multiple queer characters from The Walking Dead die, I’m not going to hold it against the television show Spartacus for killing a bisexual woman in the final battle where everybody dies. (I will blame them for systematically killing off any and all interesting, complex female characters until we were left with almost nothing, when we had such good ones in Season 1). I do not see Dani dying at the end of Haunting of Bly Manor to be a ‘Bury Your Gays” situation in the least. 

And I am a lot more prone to being comfortable with a queer character dying if there are other queer characters in the story, as long as they don’t all die, you know what I mean?  

Hell, even in shows written and/or performed by queer people where at the end everyone lives, they’ll still sometimes kill (and then resurrect) the characters. Laura in Carmilla  for instance. 

According to a study by LGBT Fans Deserve Better, 62 lesbian and bisexual female characters had died over the past two seasons of television (at the time, which I think was like 2014-2016) and the 2015-2016 year saw the highest number of deaths of queer women in one season of television (42 characters accounting fro 10% of all deaths for scripted television shows that season)

In 2016, a GLAAD analysis was published stating “25 lesbian and bisexual female-identifying characters have died on scripted broadcast and cable television and streaming series since the beginning of 2016” and went on to say that most of those deaths were used to further the plot of the often cishet main character, and violent death was the most repeated ending for queer women in media. 

Looking further back in time, the Hays Code of 1930, which had major influence over United States television, did not allow for positive portrayals of queerness. And those impacts linger for far longer than those rules were put in place. I’m thinking of the very obviously queer coded lobster person in PowerPuff girls (which was one of my childhood shows) named HIM who was the personification of evil. Ursula in The Little Mermaid being inspired by a drag queen. [And it is here I will put an aside to say, I love queer coded villains, I think the person that made most of DIsney’s villains in like my generation of Disney films was queer himself, yada yada I’m covering my ass from anyone who wants to engage with this post in bad faith blah blah]. 

Hell, I’ve seen one GL out of Thailand, which was GAP the Series and even they killed off another queer female character and made Sam suffer abuse at the hands of her grandmother. I’ve heard about how The Shipper treated its lesbians. 

The TL;DR version of this is that, for a very long time in (at least Western) television, a sapphic existed in a narrative, and a sapphic died, often violently, often in their lover’s arms. And thanks to studies like the one by LGBT Fans Deserve Better, these disparities were made glaringly obvious, and rates of lesbian death in shows has been going down since 2016.

[zinkadear]

1) How did you get into The Smurfs?

I've been watching the 80s cartoon since childhood. I don't know exactly when I started, but it was before the age of 10. I have memories of seeing it on cable as a young kid. So I began around 20 years ago.

Then in 6th grade (age 11-12) my dad bought the first half of Season 1 on DVD, and I watched it all the time. Awhile later, we got the second half, and a DVD that has 5 episodes from Season 2.

For a year or two, those were the only ones I watched, over and over again. Then I found a YouTube channel that had all 9 seasons, 400+ episodes. I was so happy to once again see stuff I'd remembered from years ago, and to experience more I'd either forgotten or never watched before.

This was also when I learned that each season has its own unique intro and outro, which I loved. On cable, a shortened version of the Season 4 intro was always used. That one's very nostalgic to me for that reason. But now I always try to watch the proper intro and outro with an episode. It makes the experience so much better.

Anyway that was when I finally knew all the lore and characters from the cartoon, and I started getting into the fandom. I didn't draw much back then, but I looked at other people's work, and read and wrote fanfics.

Twice since then, I've had times where I got obsessed and watched all the episodes again. This last happened a year or two ago, and I got super involved in the fandom. I drew very often, came up with ships, created several OCs, and joined a Discord server where I made a lot of friends. I'm no longer there, but I'm mutuals with a bunch of them here.

I've recently started drawing smurfs again because Art Fight is coming up, and I had a few nextgen that I wanted to get done for the event. I'd like to start drawing smurfs even after this, though it won't be as frequently as it used to be.

So that's my long story about getting into The Smurfs. It's my favorite cartoon, and will always be very special and dear to my heart.

Link to Ask Meme

[this-machine-runs-on-coffee]

"DEAD GAY SON" THIS IS NOT AN EXACT TRANSLATION, THIS IS AN ADAPTATION (AND ONE THAT STILL NEEDS TONS OF FIXING AT THAT)

Now, you're seeing the word "Dead" for the third time in my adapted songs. Am I obsessed with death? No, JD is, that's why it's there. I should also say I don't really like how this one came out, but I had to give you something in theme with pride month, even though this song isn't exactly the best (and I'm sorry for that but I would've had to adapt this song eventually and idk how but many people seem to find this song funny on YouTube so here you are). I should specify I could do way better with other songs and that I dislike how this one came out but it's very close to the original meaning (IMO) so here you have it, "Dead Gay Son". I'm also sorry for keeping the slur, but it was in the original song and adapting songs is (at least for me) keeping them as close as possible to the original meaning while keeping them singable. Also I fucked up the syllables and rhymes so bad

ASK ME FOR PERMISSION BEFORE USING THIS, DO CREDIT ME IF YOU EVER USE THIS (I doubt you will it’s impractical and still needs so much fixing it’s unbelievable) AND TELL ME/LINK WHATEVER YOU USED IT FOR USING REBLOGS (because for some reason Tumblr doesn’t like comments with links and while I do think I understand why I don’t always like it)

(the apostrophes [or however ’ is called] are used to shorten the number of syllables often in poetry so I’m obviously abusing that power.)

[PAPÀ DI RAM, parlato] Aspetta solo un minuto, Paul! È parlare in modo ignorante e odioso come fai tu che rende questo un posto che i nostri ragazzi non sopportavano!

(cantato) Non erano sconci! Non era una svistina! Eran due versi solitari Nella grande canzone divina!

[PAPÀ DI KURT, parlato] I nostri figli erano finocchi, Bill!

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Sì! Mio figli'è un omosessuale E di questo non mi vergognerei— Voglio che il mondo sappia... Amo il mio morto figlio gay!

(parlato) Sono stato a pensare. Pregare. Leggere un po' di riviste. Ed è tempo di aprire le nostre menti!

(cantato) Beh, il buon Dio l'universo ha fatto Dio ha creato l'umanità E penso che sia parte del suo piano nella sua immensità So che Dio ha una ragione Per ogni oceano ed ogni goccia E perché ha deciso di lasciar i ragazzi farsi nella doccia! Non erano sconci— Non erano animali! Eran due lacci isolati nei divini stivali! Non m'è mai'mportato tanto di gay ma ora me ne interesserei

[PAPÀ DI RAM & CONGREGAZIONE] E ora ho imparato ad amare…

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Amo il mio morto figlio gay!

[CONGREGAZIONE] Ama suo figlio Ama suo figlio Il suo morto gay figlio!

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Ora, dico che mio figli'è in Paradiso! E che s'abbronza in piscina Il cherubino cammina con loro e, Gesù dice ch'è 'na cosa carina! Non hanno crimini o odio, non ci sono bigottismo o'nsulti - Solo persone amichevoli vestite come i loro compaesani preferiti! Non erano sconci—

[CONGREGAZIONE] No, no!

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Si sentivano rimossi!

[CONGREGAZIONE] Whoa!

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Nei lunghi capelli di Dio eran due elastici rossi Prima quando vedevo un gay avrei detto "Gli sparerei"

[PAPÀ DI RAM & CONGREGAZIONE] Ma ora ho imparato ad amare…

[PAPÀ DI RAM] E per di più! Quei due, eran coraggiosissimi! Quei due, ne erano coscientissimi! Quelli li avrebbero giudicati, eran disperati d'esser liberi! Si son comportati da ribelli, nudi quasi ai gioielli! Paul, non posso credere Che continui a rifiutar di capire Quest'è quel che eravam destinat'a fare—

(parlato) Parlo di me e te! Nell'estate dell'83!

[PAPÀ DI KURT, parlato] Quello è stato un viaggio particolare

[CONGREGAZIONE] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa Whoa, whoa, whoa! Non erano sconci— No! E non solo una percossa— No, no! Erano dello strass Sulla divina borsa!

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ] Il nostro lavoro è di fare quel che da tempo pensavo: "Lo farei"!

[CONGREGAZIONE] Perché ora amiamo, amiamo, amiamo Amiamo i vostri—

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Sono sù là al battito delle ali angeliche a ballar!

[PAPÀ DI KURT] Un compagno prendono…

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Verso l'un l'altro si tendono—

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ] Mentre Judy Garland sta a cantar!

[PAPÀ DI RAM] Vivono una seconda vita spensierata e spericolata!

[PAPÀ DI KURT] Si dondolan sul cancello incastonato—

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ & CONGREGAZIONE] E hanno una collana incastonata!

[CONGREGAZIONE] Whoo!

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ] Non erano sconci!

[CONGREGAZIONE] No!

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ & CONGREGAZIONE] Eran bravi uomini! E ora son felici cuccioli nella tana dei divini!

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ] Andate avanti e amatevi ora Come avrebbe fatto mio figlio Insegneremo al mond'ad amar...

[CONGREGAZIONE] Al mond'ad amar...

[TUTTI] Al mond'ad amar...

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ sovrapponendosi con la congregazione] Amo il mio morto gay figlio! Mio figlio! Mio figlio!

[CONGREGAZIONE] Non tanto male, il tuo morto figlio gay! Vorrei aver il tuo morto figlio gay! Grazie, papà, per il tuo...

[ENTRAMBI I PAPÀ & CONGREGAZIONE] Morto! Figlio! Gay!

So, direct translation! (used in this to specify the meanings and explain certain word choices)

[RAM'S DAD, spoken] You wait just a minute, Paul! It is this ignorant, hateful way of talking like yours that makes this world a place our boys could not tolerate!

(sung) They were not dirty(but as in filthy/indecent)! It (I mean as in their "love" but can't find a way to specify it) wasn't a small oversight! They were two lonely verses In the great divine(/heavenly? I don't really know how to translate that but it's as in God's/Heaven's) song!

[KURT'S DAD, spoken] Our sons were pansies, Bill!

[RAM'S DAD] Yes! My son's a homosexual And of that I wouldn't be ashamed (for the rhyme)— I want the world to know... I love my dead gay(those two got inverted [gay and son])son!

(spoken) I've remained to think. To pray. To read some magazines. And it's time we opened our minds!

(sung) Well, the good Lord made the universe The Lord created humanity And I believe it's all a part of his plan in its immensity I know God has a reason For each ocean and drop And why he chose to let our boys do each other in the shower! They were not dirty(/filthy/indecent)— They were not animals (it fit for the rhyme)! They were just two stray laces in the divine(/Heaven's/the Lord's) big boots Well, I never cared for homos much but now I would be interested [RAM’S DAD & CONGREGATION] And now I've learned to love…

[RAM’S DAD] I love my dead gay(inverted in this part [son and gay])son!

[CONGREGATION] He loves his son He loves his son His dead gay son!

[RAM'S DAD] Now, I say my boy's in Heaven! And he's tanning by the pool The cherubim walks with them, and Jesus says it's cute! They don't have crime or hatred, there's no bigotry or insults - Just friendly fellows dressed up like their fav'rite fellow village Person! They were not dirty(filthy/indecent)—

[CONGREGATION] No, no!

[RAM’S DAD] They felt removed (for the rhyme)!

[CONGREGATION] Whoa!

[RAM’S DAD] They were two bright red rubberbands in God's long hair Before(,) when I saw a homo(/gay) I would've said "I'd shoot him" [RAM’S DAD & CONGREGATION] But now I've learned to love…

[RAM’S DAD] And furthermore! These boys were very brave! These boys , they were very conscient of it! Those folks would judge 'em, they were desperate to be free! They behaved like rebels, stripped almost to their jewels(/balls/testicles)! Paul, I can't believe That you keep on refusing to understand This is what we were meant to be doing—

(spoken) I'm talkin’ you and me! In the summer of '83!

[KURT'S DAD, spoken] That was one particular trip

[CONGREGATION] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa Whoa, whoa, whoa! They were not dirty(/filthy/indecent)— No! And not only a hit (because they were bullies and hit people and that's what they were recognised from? Would that make sense?)— No, no! (Damn ok thanks for the confirmation) They were rhinestones On the divine(/Heaven's/God's) purse!

[BOTH DADS] Our job is now doing what for long I thought: "I'd do this"! [CONGREGATION] 'Cause now we love, love, love! We love your dead—

[RAM’S DAD] They're up there disco dancing to the thump of angel wings!

[KURT’S DAD] They grab a mate…

[RAM’S DAD] And lean(more like tend/stretch) toward each other—

[BOTH DADS] While Judy Garland is singing!

[RAM’S DAD] They live a second life that's fancy-free and reckless!

[KURT'S DAD] They swing upon the gates with gemstones set inside them—

[BOTH DADS & CONGREGATION] And wear a necklace with gemstones set inside it!

[CONGREGATION] Whoo!

[BOTH DADS] They were not dirty(/filthy/indecent)!

[CONGREGATION] No!

[BOTH DADS & CONGREGATION] They were good men! And now they're happy cubs in the Gods' (yup the apostrophe placing is intentional and not a mistake, that's what I mean, I'm hinting at the trinity) den!

[BOTH DADS] Go forth and love each other now Like my boy would have done We'll teach the world to love...

[CONGREGATION] The world to love...

[ALL] The world to love...

[BOTH DADS overlapping with congregation] I love my dead gay son! My son! My son!

[CONGREGATION] Not half bad, your dead gay son! Wish I had your dead gay son! Thank you, dad, for your...

[BOTH DADS & CONGREGATION] Dead! Gay! Son! OG LYRICS (if you’re seeing this I doubt you don’t know them, but here they are anyway):

[RAM'S DAD, spoken] You wait just a minute, Paul! It is ignorant, hateful talk like yours that makes this world a place our boys could not live in!

(sung) They were not dirty! They were not wrong! They were two lonely verses In the Lord's great song!

[KURT'S DAD, spoken] Our boys were pansies, Bill!

[RAM'S DAD] Yes! My boy's a homosexual And that don't scare me none— I want the world to know... I love my dead gay son!

(spoken) I've been thinking. Praying. Reading some magazines. And it's time we opened our eyes!

(sung) Well, the good Lord made the universe The Lord created man And I believe it's all a part of his gigantic plan I know God has a reason For each mountain and each flower And why he chose to let our boys get busy in the shower! They were not dirty— They were not fruits! They were just two stray laces in the Lord's big boots Well, I never cared for homos much until I reared me one

[RAM’S DAD & CONGREGATION] But now I've learned to love…

[RAM’S DAD] I love my dead gay son!

[CONGREGATION] He loves his son He loves his son His dead gay son!

[RAM'S DAD] Now, I say my boy's in heaven! And he's tanning by the pool The cherubim walk with him and him, and Jesus says it's cool! They don't have crime or hatred, there's no bigotry or cursin' - Just friendly fellows dressed up like their fav'rite Village Person! They were not dirty—

[CONGREGATION] No, no!

[RAM’S DAD] They just had flair!

[CONGREGATION] Whoa!

[RAM’S DAD] They were two bright red ribbons in the Lord's long hair Well, I used to see a homo and go reachin' for my gun

[RAM’S DAD & CONGREGATION] But now I've learned to love…

[RAM’S DAD] And furthermore! These boys were brave as hell! These boys , they knew damn well! Those folks would judge 'em, they were desperate to be free! They took a rebel stance, stripped to their underpants! Paul, I can't believe that you Still refuse to get a clue After all that we been through—

(spoken) I'm talkin’ you and me! In the summer of '83!

[KURT'S DAD, spoken] That was one hell of a fishing trip

[CONGREGATION] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa Whoa, whoa, whoa! They were not dirty— No! And not perverse— No, no! They were just two stray rhinestones On the Lord's big purse!

[BOTH DADS] Our job is now continuing the work that they begun!

[CONGREGATION] 'Cause now we love, love, love! We love your dead—

[RAM’S DAD] They're up there disco dancing to the thump of angel wings!

[KURT’S DAD] They grab a mate…

[RAM’S DAD] And roller skate—

[BOTH DADS] While Judy Garland sings!

[RAM’S DAD] They live a playful afterlife that's fancy-free and reckless!

[KURT'S DAD] They swing upon the pearly gates—

[BOTH DADS & CONGREGATION] And wear a pearly necklace!

[CONGREGATION] Whoo!

[BOTH DADS] They were not dirty!

[CONGREGATION] No!

[BOTH DADS & CONGREGATION] They were good men! And now they're happy bear cubs in the Lord's big den!

[BOTH DADS] Go forth and love each other now Like our boys would have done We'll teach the world to love...

[CONGREGATION] The world to love...

[ALL] The world to love...

[BOTH DADS overlapping with congregation] I love my dead gay son! My son! My son!

[CONGREGATION] Not half bad, your dead gay son! Wish I had your dead gay son! Thank you, dad, for your...

[BOTH DADS & CONGREGATION] Dead! Gay! Son! THE ONE I NOW COMPARE IT TO (29/5/24)

[hornetstabber]

they added some probably tracking shit to the end of shortened youtube links to the point that they're literally not shorter anymore what a website

[farfarahleeya]

With the rise of Instagram Reels and TikTok videos, it seems as though blogging has become a thing of the past... or has it? Let's see if blogging is still relevant in the age of Instagram and Tiktok.

The Early Days:

Blogging first became a thing when Justin Hall created what he called his "personal homepage" on Links.net, where he reviewed HTML examples from other online links (Zantal-Wiener 2020). 3 years later, Jon Barger, a fellow blogger, coins the term "weblog", reflecting the process of logging the web. Another 2 years later, Peter Merholz, a programmer, shortens the term "weblog" into "blog", to which Merriam-Webster would declare as the word of the year in 2004 (NDMU 2018).

~ TLDR ~

1994 - Justin Hall's "personal homepage" on Links.net

1997 - Jon Barger coins the term weblog

1999 - Peter Merholz shortens "weblog" -> "blog"

2004 - Merriam-Webster declares "blog" as their word of the year

The prime time of internet exploration (for the masses) between the late-90s and early-00s are also home to the births of iconic blogging platforms such as Blogger and WordPress (NDMU 2018).

These early days were the chance for the readers and writers of the world to digitalise their bibliophilic habits as they ventured new ways to connect with bookworms across the globe.

The Evolution:

Right in the midst of blogging's mainstreaming years, the public launching of YouTube in 2005 sparked the evolution of blogging. With that, the wonders of blogging were no longer confined to the wordsmiths of the world.

YouTube's culture of video blogging, or vlogging, appealed to those who preferred audio and visual stimulation, thus continuing the reach of blogging as a whole (Maslanka 2017). This video blogging culture brought forth most of the blogging cultures still in tact today, such as the aforementioned Instagram Reels and TikTok videos, which are forms of blogging that invoke creativity in a different medium than what blogging first started as.

The Question:

lyrics captured from Spotify

So blogging evolved from choosing the right writing style to choosing the right background music, but what does that mean? Does no one do the former anymore? Is everyone just trying to accomplish the latter?

Take, for instance, you feel like cooking something new. Some people would turn to a cooking channel on YouTube, while some prefer clicking on the recipe blogs that their search engine compiles for them. My friend would rather watch a video about the newest technology, whereas I would like to read about it in a blog post instead.

It all comes down to personal preference.

Numerous blog platforms are still around and are home to a growing number of blog accounts that cater to different genres of digital communities; because just as many people there are on this planet, exists a vast range of interests, preferences, and personalities. These aspects result in the creation of digital communities that almost anyone can find a seat in. These different groups then evolve within themselves to create their own set of cultures, norms, as well as trends.

So perhaps someone who spends their days watching Instagram Stories and TikTok Lives may seem to think that blogging is a dying flame, but to someone who replies to tweets and writes fantasy fiction on Tumblr, would disagree. In fact, posting short snippets of your day or sharing your thoughts in a tweet is a form of blogging in itself, specifically known as microblogging. Microblogging is an example of blogging cultures trickling down to make room for the readers and writers of the world who enjoy doing so, but in a more casual setting.

It is also important to note that personalities are not a black and white thing. Preferences are not an either or situation. There are many people who enjoy both reading blogs and watching videos.

・・・・・・

Besides leisure pursuits, blog accounts can also be used professionally. Setting up a portfolio blog could serve as a digital gallery of one's work (ThemesKingdom 2019). For example, a programmer's portfolio blog could include the programs they have coded or their experiences with different programming languages. The inclusion of a portfolio blog to a resume helps future employers grasp the personalities, morals, and ethics of the potential employee.

And along the lines of career-oriented blogs are money-making blogs; a solid option for the adventurers who seek a non-conventional career path. These type of blogs often rake in revenue through brand partnerships, affiliate links, premium content or private consultations (Polner & Bottorff 2023).

The Answer:

Definitely! I would confidently say that blogging is still relevant in the midst of Instagram and TikTok's uprising.

While there is no denying that Instagram and TikTok may be more popular amongst certain demographics, the future of blogging continues to march on, because as long as there are bookworms around, blogging will remain relevant ⋆｡⋆☂˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆

︵‿︵‿ References ‿︵‿︵

Maslanka, M 2017, The Vlog Blog: History of Vlogging, MotionSource, 28 July, viewed 27 September 2023, <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/history-of-blogging>.

NDMU 2018, History of Blogging, Notre Dame of Maryland University, 22 March, viewed 27 September 2023, <https://online.ndm.edu/news/communication/history-of-blogging/>.

Polner, M & Bottorff, C 2023, How To Start A Blog And Make Money In 2023, Forbes, 31 July, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/start-a-blog/#:~:text=Blogging%20Is%20a%20Fast%20Way,can%20start%20earning%20any%20money.>.

ThemesKingdom 2019, 5 reasons why you should include a blog in your online portfolio, ThemesKingdom, 29 May, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://themeskingdom.com/blog/reasons-to-include-a-blog-in-online-portfolio/>.

Zantal-Wiener, A 2020, A Brief Timeline of the History of Blogging, HubSpot, 19 October, viewed 29 September 2023, <https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/history-of-blogging>.