#and when i try to use another email to create a new account it says that i can't make another one right now???????

[fire-gift]

Trying to activate my appleid again and it's a pain in the ass and apple won't even let me create a new one????? I hate this!!

[x-aefx]

ONE TIME THING - BELLA RAMSEY (part4)

Pictures above are not mine

Summary: unbeknownst to you, you meet actor Bella Ramsey. You two hit it off but your paths lead two different directions.

Bella Ramsey x female reader

Warnings: none

Taglist: @evieguhbyebroski @amberputh @just-here-to-read-fanfictions @assgardangod @eddiesgirlsblog @obsessedmunson @guacala

I used she/them pronouns for Bella.

A/N NOT PROOFREAD

Part one ⬇️

★★

You were embarrassed to admit you spent your free time checking to see if Bella had left you any more text messages, and that maybe your notifications weren't working. And when you seen that they hadn't, you spent your time re-reading your conversation with them.

It was just a one time thing, get yourself together!

You spent a lot of time thinking about how they might possibly see you. You feared Bella saw you as just another fan, gave you their number out of politeness, felt bad for you even. Or maybe just another girl who worked at a café.

In the short time you had known Bella, you had stalked all their social media accounts, watched countless of their interviews and binge watched every short film they were in and their new tv show, 'The Last of Us'

It doesn't take a person long to realize the amount of love and popularity the show holds around the world. Your prior unfamiliarity towards the show and Bella's career made you cringe when you thought of it. You hoped Bella didn't take offense.

Despite Bella almost always being on your mind, you managed to keep your days productive. Weather it be scrubbing your entire home or getting some exercise into your daily routine, you would make it your mission to spend your holidays off from work trying to sort out your life. You lead a good life for a nineteen year old, you didn't want to ruin that by getting sick or lazy.

Today you managed to head down to the small gym in your area. You ended up meeting an old friend and made plans to catch up. His name was Ethan. He was the kind of friend you don't remember exactly when you became friends with, like the two of you knew each other before you realized it.

After, you spent time responding to emails that you really should not have ignored, and rearranged the furniture in your living room to create more space.

The days activities were rewarded with a good sleep that came to you easily.

★ ★ ★

Bella woke up with the largest smile adorning their face. No matter how they tried, it always crept back once they remembered her.

Her face. Her smile. Her hair. The vague scent of her perfume.

Sadly they didn't get much time to visit the café which she worked at again. If they didn't have an in- person interview, they had an online one. If they didn't have any type of interview, thay had a zoom call. If they were completely free form work, they had their studies.

There was one time however, one time where they had just enough time to stop by for a quick glance at her face, but they were surrounded by paparazzi and fans, when they finally reached outside the café a little voice in the back of their mind discouraged them from walking inside. They might see y/n laughing with a customer or a coworker and all Bella could think about was how they would only be interrupting, a burden that y/n didn't need nor want.

Bella didn't even have any of her social media accounts to stalk. Believe them they tried numerous times, typing in the name and finding hundreds of accounts all belonging to the wrong person. Bella had only gotten her first name, finding any of her social media would be near impossible.

Bella had contemplated messaging her many times after. In truth they didn't know what to say, were they supposed to say anything at all or was it just a one time thing? Bella knew one thing, and it was that they definitely wanted to see her again.

★ ★

No one likes going to their workplace when they aren't actually working, but when your very kind coworker whom you owe one too many favours to, asks you so nicely...

You can't really say no.

The minute you sat yourself down on the couch and your feet just touched the ground, you were up in a second once more.

Conscious of time you grabbed your purse and phone in a hurry, once you were certain your house was locked you made your way to the street. You sped in a B line direction for the man getting out of the taxi a few paces away. You waved a signal hopeful the driver would see it as you jogged.

"hey, would it be possible to get to Cafferey's dry cleaners before It closes. It's an emergency. " You tripped over your words as you tried to regain your breath. You slid into the backseat.

The driver looked at you from the mirror.

"for an emergency? Of course. " By his accent you guessed he was from Northern Ireland. The driver smiled at you. Not a smile that made you uncomfortable, one that eased your nerves just the smallest bit. You smiled back as you pushed your hair away from your face.

You played with your fingers as you looked at the time on your phone every few moments. You cursed all the other traffic on the road for delaying you.

When you reached the small building you practically sprung from the vehicle. The building was grey and blended in almost completely with all the other buildings surrounding it if not for the bold black lettering reading, 'Cafferey's dry cleaners!'

The couple who ran the business were nice and always happy to have a conversation with whoever walked in. Thankfully, Rita, noticed your state of stress and didn't keep you long. She smiled when she handed you the bag, making a comment about how you got here just in time before they closed for the evening. When the bag was in your hands you felt weight be lifted from your shoulders like a curse being broken.

Just as your taxi driver had promised, he remained outside the building. You quickly made your way back to the car to avoid keeping him waiting. You told him which street the café resided on and sunk back into the leather seats.

Releasing a breath you smiled as you watched the window.

★ ★ ★

Bella couldn't sit around their apartment anymore. If they couldn't see y/n on social media, they would see her in person, real life.

They didn't know where she lived or where y/n's regular spot might be, they did however know her workplace. They last time Bella visited, they had managed to get her name and give y/n their number. Bella only prayed she was working today.

When y/n's face flashed in Bella's mind for the hundredth time today, it was the last straw for them.

Bella needed to see her. Even just her face through the window.

Wasting no time, Bella walked swifty out of the apartment and onto the street to get a taxi. Luck was on their side as a taxi arrived almost immediately.

"hi, how are you. Burr & co café. On Bernard Street. Please."

"a popular spot that must be. I'm only after coming from there." The driver laughed.

"oh really? What a coincidence." Bella paid no mind as they put on their seatbelt.

"it is indeed."

Bella recognized the drivers accent as Northern Irish instantly. Trying to be polite as possible they engaged in small talk as best they could. Their knee wouldn't stop bouncing no matter how hard they tried to calm it.

The café was relatively close so the drive was quick. Bella took a breath of the fresh air once the stepped out of the car. The breeze gently blowed their hair back.

Rubbing their hands up and down their thighs as a means to steady their nerves, Bella moved towards the café door after their moment of contemplation.

The café was loud with chatter and laughing so no one payed any mind once the door opened.

Bella's eyes immediately searched the entire room for you.

They recognized your figure instantly even with your back facing them.

That's when their heart began beating faster, it's thumping echoed in their ears. Hands by their sides as their fingers wiggled in anticipation the closer they got to you.

★ ★

"Oh y/n I love you so much! Thank you thank you thank you!" Emma squealed once she seen you arrive with the bag in hand. Running from their spot behind the counter you were engulfed in their tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry! I tried getting off but boss wouldn't -you must of been in such a panic-im so sorry-!"

You cut off Emma's ramble. You rested your hand on her shoulders and smiled assuringlly at her. Sure the task was stressful but you would do it for Emma.

"it's fine, I promise. No need to worry."

In your head the stress was worth it if it meant Emma would still be able to go on her first ever date.

"let me grab you something to eat, on me." Emma took your hand and lead you to the counter where she was previously.

"it's fine I already -"

"nonsense." Emma cut you off immediately. You knew there was no point fighting with her, so you left her to do what she needed whilst you read the menu that hung up above you.

Your eyebrows raised slightly as you read some of the prices.

Smoothies, hot beverages, cake-

"I'm relieved that your here and I didn't end up wasting my time."

You were startled slightly by the familiar voice behind you. Turning around to see who it was you were pleasantly surprised to find Bella looking right back at you.

You couldn't hide your shock at seeing them here. With your eyes widened in disbelief and your jaw slacked you must of looked as though you had just seen a ghost.

It took you a moment to regain your composure.

"hey Bella-wasn't expecting to see you."

Bella grinned. You watched as their eyes took you in. This was the first time they had seen you in your more casual clothes as they only seen you at work, or when you were on your way to work which is how you two first met.

You wore blue cuffed jeans, old nearly falling apart air force 1's and a Metallica band t-shirt. Your hair was tied half up half down, and your wrists were littered with bracelets. The weather was nice and you weren't going anywhere important so you didn't feel the need to dress fancy.

As Bella examined you, you examined them. They wore straight black trousers that were rolled up at the bottom,a white opened shirt with a white top underneath. You noticed they also wore the same cap as they did when you first met them on the bus. Bello wore a colourful beaded bracelet and two silver rings on their left hand. You had to admit, they looked really good.

"are you working?"

Bella was the first to break the silence.

"nope, just owed a friend a favor. That's all. I got some time off actually. More time for studying and all that stuff." You scratched the back of your neck, you were no good at small talk, you hoped it wasn't obvious. You knew you were lying too, you wouldn't spend the entirety of your free time studying.

"oh really?" Bella's smile widened. "I'm free for the next couple of days too!"

Your eyebrows rose. You didn't know much about acting or an actors career, but everyone made it seem like the most time consuming job out there. Not to mention what were the chances of both bella and you being free at the same time.

"God's work at it's finest."

Fucking. Weirdo.

Who says that?

Fuck. Me .

You were panicking. It's been so long since a person has made you feel the way Bella was making you feel: all nervous and giddy. You wanted to impress them and make them smile constantly. It was sickening.

Bella giggled.

That sweet sound you heard in many of their interviews. Typically ones with Pedro Pascal.

You made them giggle.

"I suppose it is"

Something about Bella's grin and they way their eyes looked into yours, it made you feel like all your insides were spinning-but in a good way.

★ ★ ★

Bella could admire you for years without ever getting bored.

The relief and excitement they felt from seeing you in that café-

You looked so perfect.

The way your hair was away from your face, how your clothes fit your body perfectly. You were a picture that deserved to be framed for the whole world to see.

"hey Bella-wasn't expecting to see you."

When you spoke all they could do was smile as their eyes took you in. When they realized they had been staring they were quick to escape their trance. Their grin broadened once they seen you also examining them. A small bubbling feeling of pride swelled inside them.

"are you working?"

"nope, just owed a friend a favor. That's all. I got some time off actually. More time for studying and all that stuff." Bella watched as you rubbed the back of your neck, they really hoped they weren't making you uncomfortable.

"oh really?" Bella's smile widened. "I'm free for the next couple of days too!"

All Bella could think about was how grateful they were that they came to see you today.

"God's work at it's finest."

Bella's lip quirked just the tiniest bit. They looked right into your eyes, their smile gradually widening until the giggle they were trying to suppress escaped their lips.

"I suppose it is" Was all Bella managed to say.

The conversation began to die down. Unbeknownst to Bella, your mind was also racing with topics to talk about and conversation starters just as theirs was.

★ ★

As you contemplated what to say next a flash coming from outside caught your eye. A man, paparazzi presumably, stood across the street with a camera in hand covering his face as he took multiple photos.

It never occured to you just how creepy paparazzi were and they weren't even taking pictures of you, but of Bella. You felt a bit of pity, surely that must get annoying.

When Bella saw your attention was focused outside, they turned to see what you were seeing. It didn't take them long to figure it out.

"shit!" You faintly heard them whisper more to them-self than you. You felt Bella grab onto your hand as they lead you behind them further into the café, out of view from the camera.

"I'm so sorry!"

Bella rubbed her thumb in circle's against the skin of your hand to offer comfort to the both of you.

"it's fine" you reassured them.

Bella seemed relieved at you un-bothered attitude.

They smiled at you but you couldn't find it in yourself to smile back when a thought downed on you.

"more will come. You should probably get going."

You hid your own disappointment behind an apologetic smile. You didn't really want them to leave but you knew more people would surely show up.

"I'll be fine. I promise. I wanted to see you and since we're both free for the next few days-"

"Bella this is so weird, you know that?" You laughed. "we met on a bus, your still pretty much a stranger to me, we keep meeting at my workplace,-"

"Spend the afternoon with me"

Bella cut you off from saying anything else.

"what? Bella did you not hear anything I just said-"

"spend the afternoon with me and I'll tell you everything you want to know about me. I would also like to know everything about you"

Never had you been put in a situation like this before.

It was hard to think straight with Bella looking at you, silently pleading that you'll accept their offer, the smile on her face, the feeling of your hands still being held by theirs. It was all so much.

"I don't know-"

"please-"

"I need to shower and-"

"we can meet somewhere, I'll text you an address-"

You turned you head to the direction of Emma calling you over with the food she said she would get for you.

You quickly turned back to Bella.

You sighed seeing their puppy dog eyes.

You closed your eyes as you tried to reason with yourself. You knew well that if you didn't go you would only regret it.

"fine-"

"great!-"

"fuck this is so weird." You rubbed your hand across your forehead. Your eyes were closed but you could hear Bella's laugh.

"you'll have fun. I promise."

--

[theshmaylor]

ADHD and To-Do Lists

It's a common problem we have. You create a new to-do list or start a planning journal and promise "this is the perfect way to keep a to-do list. I'm Getting Myself Together. this time I'll stick with it. this time I'll Do The Thing Correctly."

And then 4 months later you look around and it's been at least a month since you last looked at the list and you have no idea what important things you have to do and everything is an anxious spiraling mess with no structure for awhile. Then in another few months you find another guaranteed "perfect", ADHD-friendly method to keep a list and the cycle repeats again.

Well, what I've found is there is no perfect to-do list. There's only the to-do list you're willing to use in the moment, and the way to solve this problem is to make a new list before you get to the phase where everything is falling apart.

Let me explain. ADHD brains crave novelty. Without new things, we get under-stimulated and bored (this can be true for everyone, but is worse in ADHD people). That's where the symptoms of impulsivity and difficulty with long-term habits come from.

So, instead of trying to force yourself to keep and maintain the same long-term list or planner, my approach is to IMMEDIATELY create a new list when you feel yourself beginning to ignore the old list. Make it in a different place with a different method. And, most crucially, transfer the incomplete to-do items from your old list to your new list. Reword or reorder them to spice it up.

It sometimes feels silly to make a new list when the old one seems like it's still working, but doing it early lets you skip past the few months where you're left untethered with no list and constantly forgetting about important things.

When I say "different method," it doesn't have to be complicated or overly structured. Just different from what you were doing before. Some of my to-do lists have been:

An email draft

Loose sheets of lined paper

Loose sheets of unlined paper

A .txt file

In a small spiral notebook

A dedicated email account where each to-do item is an individual email sent to myself

An app on my phone with little checkboxes (specifically google Keep, but I'm sure non-google options exist)

A WordPad file

A series of post-it notes stuck on top of each other

Obviously some of these are more convenient than others for portability and accessibility, but for myself I've found that the novelty is more important than how user-friendly it is. (Your mileage may vary of course)

It can be easier said than done to recognize that you're becoming bored with the old list and to get the motivation to create a new list, so I understand if you're skeptical. This idea may not work for you, but it's been the most successful to-do list approach for me, and I'd suggest giving it a try if you've been struggling to make other things work.

[marygih]

My Stlaker

I think one of my most traumatic experiences on the internet was having a Stlaker for years.

I met him on the damned Amino app. At first he introduced himself as a friend who would give me art tips, and I, at 13, thought that was amazing. But obviously I didn't give him any important personal information about myself. We used to chat in a Telegram group. The group had 3 people, me, him and another boy who I later found out was another account of his, he pretended to be two people to talk to me. He would say strange things sometimes, but I took it as a joke. Things started to get weird when he told me: "I wish I had twin sisters like you." At first I laughed and said that my sisters weren't twins, they just had very similar names because my dad isn't very creative. But then I realized that I had never told him I had sisters. I had never shared my art account on Instagram, we only talked on Telegram and sometimes on Amino. I should have distanced myself from him after the first incident. But I already had some attachment to this guy.

His second mistake was when he randomly called me "my white" and that chilled me to the core. The only person who called me that was my father. I decided to analyze my sisters' social media to see if I could find him among their followers. He was somehow discovering things about my personal life. I didn't find him, but I found an old story of my sister's in a very old highlight where I appeared in the background and you could hear my father calling "my white, come here" and I would get up and walk out of view in the video. My "friend" had been spying on my sisters' social media a lot. I thought it was really weird and decided to nip it in the bud and deleted both Telegram and Amino. I just didn't know it was going to get much worse. He actually found my Instagram and for weeks fake accounts would send me messages. At first the messages would ask what had happened, then they would apologize, and then the next messages would be strange and aggressive. In some of them, he blamed my best friend for "poisoning me against him" and said he would make her pay dearly for it. In others, he literally harassed me, in others he said that I must be a lesbian and that's why I didn't like him, and that he could become trans to please me (this was getting so absurd that I was already scared). I didn't respond to any of the messages, I just read them and blocked the account. I made my Instagram private and removed strange followers to try to get rid of it, and he kept bothering me, he found my Pinterest account, sent me text messages, found my YouTube channel, I even received emails from this obsessed motherfucker. I created new social networks without photos and with completely different nicknames to get rid of him. But I didn't get rid of him.

[thursdayinspace]

20 questions for 20 writers

tagged by @thatfragilecapricorn30 @randomfoggytiger and @baronessblixen thank you!! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 21

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 70.063 -- this is my new AO3, so that's why it's still so low, haha.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Only X-Files now.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? spectacular (glasses sex!), it's the day the world didn't end, from this morning forward (that makes me so happy), got you covered, wild side

5. Do you respond to comments? yes. if I ever don't, I'm sorry, it's not because i didn't love your comment, but i just don't get around to it right away sometimes. but i try to reply to every single one because i love them all.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? ohhh. i don't write super angsty endings . . . I guess mend into pieces bc it's season 2 and they know they're making a mistake, but we all know they'll figure it out eventually, so.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? they pretty much all end happily. i'm going to more or less randomly pick five ways to say i love you. because i loved writing that ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics? so, okay. there are two stories here i want to tell from an old fandom. one is funny. one is kind of great, really?

the funny one: i got a looooong comment on a fic, like several paragraphs long, going into great detail about why the fic sucked and why i sucked and why i had personally offended them by writing fic at all. they obvs meant to comment anonymously but forgot to log out. by the time i got to my computer, they had deleted their entire account. of course i had their name in the ao3 email. i laughed so hard at that.

the kind of amazing one: i got a very rude anon on tumblr, and i responded by saying i'd be happy to discuss their criticism, but i wasn't going to have a conversation with a hockey puck with sunglasses, and asked them to come off anon so we could talk. and they did! they showed up in my dms a short while later. we solved nothing and did not part as friends, but i actually have mad respect for that. wherever they are today, i hope they have taken some anger management classes and are doing well!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yeah, i certainly do. idk what kind? the porny kind? lol no i mean it's kind of lame but fun.

10. Do you write crossovers? i wrote a stargate atlantis/firefly crossover centuries ago but that was it. or maybe start trek with sth else, i don't remember.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? i don't think so, no.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes! it's so much fun and i would do it again.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? mulder and scully!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i plan to finish all of them.

16. What are your writing strengths? it used to be dialogue but i don't think it is anymore. idk? i think i can create an atmosphere?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? i tend to repeat myself a lot and then skip over other things completely. i'm not good with transitions between scenes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i haven't done it, but if it would make sense for a fic, i might do it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? stargate atlantis. i was very late to the fanfic party.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? it's called 'ellipsis' and is still with the beta. but of the ones i've already posted, either from this morning forward or yesterday's future.

Randomfoggytiger added additional questions:

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life? i mean it's a hobby but it's definitely also a way of life. there isn't ever a time when i don't think about writing and everything all the time connects in some way to a thing i'm writing and i can't imagine what i'd do without writing.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript? completed manuscript! or notes? uhh . . . both?

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration? everything. random things. i can't think of one specific thing, it can be literally anything.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing? both thoughts are equally awful lol

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective? yeah, i think so. not in any big way, but about smaller stuff, just the way i look at certain things? yes.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN? ao3!!! my tinkerbell brain loves the comment section, haha. also it's just so much nicer to read on ao3 and there's the download option, so also as a reader, def ao3.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it? 70.063 - no, i'm not satisfied with it. i used to write multi-chapters with more words. but it's a new account so yeah starting small again.

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably? jasper fforde's 'thursday next' series. it's where i stole my name from. literary detectives? oh man. it's the kind of story where you wish you'd had the idea first. go read it!!!!!

9. What's the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it? i am really really lucky to have been given so many amazing compliments and i appreciate every single one. i couldn't say what means the most to me . . . probably when it's personal to the commenter? when someone tells me sth i've written touched them in some way. bc that's what i want to achieve.

10. What defines your writing style? lol idek man pretentious purple prose? i think i live somewhere between overuse of metaphors and focus on the rhythm of a text. i love writing in english bc it flows so nicely. idk is trying to make it sound nice a style bc then that's at least what i'm going for.

who hasn't been tagged? no pressure tags for @backintimeforstuff @nachosncheezies @actual-changeling and everybody else who wants to!

[sunnywalnut]

Do's and Don'ts of accepting commissions:

-DON'T disclose if you have recently made an account for a finance app in order to accept commissions (scammers will exploit this. They now know that you don't know how the app works and they do. Haha now you got scammed)

-DO look into their profile. How old is it? How many posts do they have? Followers? How many people are they following? What KIND of people are they following? Some scammers will create new accounts that LOOK old by following multiple people. But if you look into the actual accounts, they'll usually just be the basic ones you are offered when you first make an account. (Think. Celebrities. "Basic" Instagram models. Wannabe musicians. Etc etc) Also look to see if they've got any comments on their page. Some people might not post a lot, but usually they're not following 2000+ people at the same time.

-DON'T give out your personal information, like your email, where you live, your phone number, or birth name(unless legally obligated. Like if it's part of the payment app you're using) scammers will ask for your email SEPARATELY from the link you share to your payment app in order to send you spam and fake emails. ALWAYS send payment plans only. Especially if you already have a way to contact them.

-DON'T trust anyone who's willing to "walk you through" something. This is a business transaction. Not everyone is as good as you hope they are. Even if you don't know what's happening, pretend you do. Get somebody you trust IN REAL LIFE to take a look at what's going on. Ask them to help you instead. NEVER trust strangers to help you with money. Especially online.

-DO set boundaries. You're allowed to say "I'd rather keep things strictly professional" if they try to change the subject. Or repeat that you only accept one form of payment when they say they only have another. Even if they really are a good person and you know it in your heart. This is a BUSINESS transaction. You're not here to make friends or sugar coat things. You can be nice, but also be firm. People take advantage of those who have wobbly boundaries.

-DON'T accept grossly inflated prices. This one is tricky. I know it. You love money, I love money, and hey. Who WOULDN'T want a thick wad of cash from just one drawing, right? Except. That's. How they get ya. They promise you money. You lower your guard. You're extra super nice and sweet bc you want that sweet sweet cash. You think to yourself "oh they just want me to be paid what I'm worth" but NOPE. There's no debating. There's no "well can I tip you at least?" There's no "oh sweet your prices are lower than I expected" it's just "yep I got $300 and I'll send you the full payment right now" RED FLAG. especially if after you say you'll only accept HALF upfront. Also if they tell you their "budget" and keep INSISTING upon that specific number? Red flag. Move along. Scammers will sometimes have a set price. They don't want to go through the effort of changing it for every scam. So they'll insist on the same price regardless of what you change. Beware.

-DON'T fall for any email that claims that you cannot cancel, back out, or dispute something. Also if they claim to be ready to contact the "authorities" most apps will have a "help center" where you can ask questions. And also. They usually aren't the ones that contact the authorities. It's the person who wants their fuckin money. Unfinished transactions usually are void after a while.

-DON'T believe in the "honor system" if you get an email claiming to need somebody to send you x amount of money to "expand" your account and they WILLFULLY agree to pay it, you're dealing with a scammer. Especially if it's a big amount of money. Nobody is willing to throw $200 extra fuckin bucks away on an honor system. Not even Jeffery Bezos.

-DO be wary of people that over explain themselves and what to do when it is not in regards to the actual content they will be receiving. If they're "helping" you read an email, especially one that you haven't shown them, that's a red flag.

-DO be wary of people who do not ask the "right" questions. How long will it take, what are your prices, what styles do you do, can you do this vs that, do you do traditional or digital, etc etc. If they seem aloof and uninterested in ACTUALLY getting a specific piece done, they're not actually in it for the commission. I'm sorry.

-DO be wary of people that send references that do not match your content. I had someone send me a photo reference of two people. I've never posted any realism art EVER. And this was right after uploading a master blast of all my cartoony sketches over the span of 3 hours. And they told me I can "draw it in whatever style" when I told them I don't do hyper realism. Sus. Very sus. Don't trust anyone who doesn't care on what kind of style their piece is gonna be in. Everyone cares. Everyone SHOULD care.

-DON'T be afraid to cancel a commission. Even after you said you'd be able to do it, or that it might be possible, or anything else. Issue the refund(if needed) and tell them that while you're flattered that they came to you, you don't think you'd be the right fit for creating their certain piece. Yes this even goes for people you don't want to work with just because they're downright creepy. Protect your peace. And listen to your gut. It's usually right. I know mine was.

Stay safe out there y'all.

[jess-moloney]

"If she is really in the world of modeling and fashion".

Why no manager or boss of major brands like Guess, Dior, Prada, Fendy, Vogue, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs ou whatever fashion company, did not contact Jess to offer her to work with them like Jamie’s ex-partners and why in the YSL fashion there was that Jamie on the photo shoots and Jess only posed with him but not alone to prove that she was really invited to participate like Jamie and that she not only accompanied him ?

This woman doesn’t really run a celebrity company « Ice Studio » as she said on her interviews otherwise there would have been much more evidence on her part than posting the work of Renel, Quill and Nolan on her IG and I will add that she would not have had time to travel to each country and continent for 2 years with Jamie.

It’s not because supposedly Jess runs a celebrity company, that other companies I mentioned won’t want to work with her, I say that because Renell, Quill, Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Bella Hadid, Selena Gomez, Hailey Bieber and other business man and woman who runs a company were contacted to work with them and posed for magazines if I remember correctly and that’s not the case with Jess Moloney, unless I’m wrong.

Why do I have the impression that Jess was pistoned by guys she obviously manipulated and with whom she was dating or that she used her former friend (with whom she weirdly no longer has any contact with some of them today), for having contracts and working with Vivienne Westwood and Donna Management ?

I want to know if she left these companies herself to evolve and have « her own celebrity company » or that she was fired because she was not professional and that she created some conflicts with her former coworkers.

If I’m not mistaken Ruby also models from time to time, despite the fact that she is more a tattoo artist and I noticed that when she does photo shoots, she has more talent what Jess "says she is really a model".

The fact that none of these big brands or fashion companies bother to follow her back (or a good chunk of the people she tags or mentions) is a pretty big red flag that she's not who she says she is or as important. You'd think at least some of these people would pay attention to her if she was working with them or affiliated with them but we don't see that happening.

As for her jobs because of how quickly she moved from one to another the only real explanation is that she was fired or she was about to be fired so she knew to get a new job before someone could fire her. Though I think that eventually she screwed herself over so badly she was essentially unemployable so she started her own company because she knew she'd never be hired anywhere else.

A lot of friends (and co-workers) she seemed to have back in the day do not keep up with her now or pay attention to her on Instagram. I think she's made her own horrible reputation and has to face the consequences of it. I don't know why she doesn't realize that her account doesn't look anything like a person with a job in the industry. It looks like a fan account run by someone who is desperately trying to be noticed but failing. Minimal comments and likes on most of her posts and most of the people she tags don't like or comment on her posts, or even act like they know her.

She doesn't have anything real going for her, she just fakes it, if she were this big important industry leader or whatever she's trying to pretend to be then she'd be doing a lot more than sitting at home and answering emails for the two clients she has.

[mardytoast]

🍓🔪☁️

i thought you were referencing a song coming out from this band i know and i was like ?

but omg ask game!!

🍓how did you get into writing fanfiction🍓

omg this is serious loree. so ive been reading ff for a good few years and so do two of my irl friends (the only ppl who know i read ff in this day and age irl) and we were all in the harry potter fandom. then we were like, we should make our own JOKE fanfic, and we're were like planning it all out for fun w y/n and shit and then we actually wrote it😭 it has four chapters and it's on wattpad but it's the most insane cliché shit and probably the funniest thing I've ever done LMFAOO

and then months and months after that i tried to do my own little things but they were all terrible. but then jan 2023 i started like seriously writing. the first proper fic (multichap) i tried to do kinda crashed and burned and the other ones never made it past a few thousand words. the writing was good i just dk how to make a story😭 anyway then in september i wrote a full hp one shot even though im not in the fandom anymore?? tried to reform my multichap and wrote a few more chapters then was like wait, this still isn't working (for plot reasons).

writing is hard but rn im working on a clyde biography which is easy enough bc it's it's basically just all my head cannons❤️

🔪what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project 🔪

usa secret service LMFAO

i was writing this bodyguard x presidents daughter clybe fic and i was like.. is he even necessary??

turns out that yeah the american president has a stupid amount of guards for him AND his family and some of them live in the white house

i was basically js trying to figure out if a personal bodyguard was a reach

but that's been scrapped bc honestly it would've just been a rip off of an incredible bodyguard fic from another fandom that i read, but oh to dream

the first chapter actually bangs though i read it over a few months back and i was like damn who wrote thiss

im also considering on becoming a baby electrician bc i feel like electrician clyde x terribly built house bebe would be SO cute, but if need to know so much for it to work, thoughts?

☁️what made you choose your username☁️

basically there was an era where i was like oh i should probably get socials so i made an ao3, twitter, discord etc and i just picked two random words for each. for ao3 my first username was savage toes but i forgot abt it so i made a new acc

i picked mardytoast bc my friend, who knows i read ff has a cat called melba, and she was talking to me one time and she was like oh it's melba as in melba toast and i was like oh okayy

so when i was making my user i used that but obviously im not stealing her cats name so i chose some other word that started with m

and im actually not joking i literally created the word mardy scholars would say i COINED the phrase. like i remember i was just like okay mardy i guess. AND IN FEBRUARY I FIND OUT MARDY MEANS ANGRY GRUMPY MOODY?? like explains that arctic monkeys song but damn. so if anyone's wondering I DO NOT CLAIM THAT im just mardy with no meaning

and in september (?) i created this acc bc this writer i was going to beta read for wanted to be able to contact me outside of email so i really quickly made this and just used my ao3 username!

omg and whenever she sends me the doc with the chapter she titles it 'Mardy's Copy' and the first time I saw it i had this out of body feeling and i was like WOAH...i guess im mardy now

(and also our one on one channel in her discord server of betas was called mardy's seat like cutee)

so now me and my username have merged and i genuinely feel like my name is mardy😊

so mardy is the alias i use on all accounts where ppl i actually know don't follow me!!

send in more asks pls i love talking abt myself

the ask game is in my recent reblogs <333

[wanderinginksplot]

Vent Post

Please skip if you don't have the space right now! I'm just frustrated and looking for advice if anyone has some. Details below the cut.

The Complaint:

I have an NSFW sideblog. Sometime around the end of last year or beginning of this year, it got shadowbanned. I don't know when it happened because I didn't know shadowbanning existed on tumblr. All I knew was that fics from 2022 got several hundred notes and the most popular fic I posted this year (a list that included several continued works) got about fifteen notes total.

I spent four months working on fics for an event I do in February, but I got almost no interaction from anything I posted. It felt like I had just sacrificed literal months of my life (including holiday time I could have been spending with family) to work on stuff no one cared about.

All of that contributed heavily to the writer's block. I like to think I write mostly for myself, but seeing those numbers? I figured my works were either dropping in quality or I was just a content farm. Neither of those theories put me in a great creative headspace, leading to the writer's block I'm still trying to get over.

I sent a ticket to the staff account, letting them know about my issues and requesting to fix the sideblog. Well, since I'm shadowbanned, I didn't get a email saying that my request has been received, but they don't want multiple submissions, so I'm trying to let it ride. My other options are using a different email (I'd rather not) to get a ticket number or tweeting them (I really don't want to create a Twitter account) in hopes of a faster response.

Today, I created another sideblog as a stop-gap, to repost my fics and hopefully get some interaction on them. Just as a way to release pressure since I'm sitting on over 100,000 words of fic that most people haven't seen. The fic I reposted isn't showing up in any of the tags, which leads me to assume even new sideblogs I create are shadowbanned.

I am beyond frustrated right now.

Request for Advice:

Have you been shadowbanned before? How did you handle it? Do you remember how long it took for your problems to be addressed?

[revlyncox]

Resilience and Repair

For both Unitarian Universalist and Jewish congregations beginning again for a new year, practices such as truth telling, accountability, mutual care, contemplative practice, and organizing for justice reconnect us with each other, our ground of being, and our values. This fall, we come together after the hottest summer on record, leading us to renew our commitment to the planet as well. The spiritual themes of return and renewal for UU and Jewish communities at this time of year resonate with the three aspects of climate resilience: mitigation, adaptation, and justice. This sermon was written by the Rev. Lyn Cox and delivered to The Unitarian Society in East Brunswick, NJ, on September 17, 2023.

I live in a neighborhood that is abundant with tall, mature trees, set into rolling hills and hollows. Most of the homes were built in the middle of the twentieth century, new enough to welcome diversity, old enough that our neighborhood is run by the city and not by a homeowners association or gated community corporation. 

Forested back yards mean that the sunlight is in the front yard, where the road creates a clearing, and so those of us who grow vegetables have our gardens in the front. I have gotten to know the other gardeners on my street, and I know the neighbors who walk their dogs or take their fitness walks past me when I’m out in the yard. We trade excess tomatoes and basil in the summer, and exchange seeds along with our Purim mishloach manot baskets of hamantaschen cookies in the spring. We share stories about which crops are growing better or worse than they used to, trying to adjust what we plant and when to the way the changing climate affects our little hillside. 

Our neighborhood’s age also means we have elevated power lines, the kind that are easily brought down by falling trees. It is not at all uncommon for us to lose power in a thunderstorm or windstorm or after a heavy snow. Messages on the neighborhood email list keep track of who has power, who has a fireplace with a kettle where neighbors can come warm up their coffee, who has ice and a cooler, and which café is open for people to come and charge their phones. I wouldn’t say we have completely overcome the problem of isolation and individualism in American life, but there are glimmers of interdependence. 

September means that, on sunny days, more walkers are taking advantage of the cool air and stopping for conversations while I’m trying to reduce the chaos that the garden has become. It means the occasional extra squash shows up on our doorstep. And it means hurricane season, when we are more likely to get one of those storms. So, in the fall, we are called together in community, drawn by the patterns of sun and rain to remember that people need one another. And, in these times of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, we know that we need one another more than ever. 

What we are learning, at least on a small scale, is climate adaptation, which is part of climate resilience. The Union of Concerned Scientists says:

Climate resilience is about successfully coping with and managing the impacts of climate change while preventing those impacts from growing worse. A climate resilient society would be low-carbon and equipped to deal with the realities of a warmer world. (They continue)

There’s only one real way to achieve climate resilience: cut the heat-trapping emissions that drive climate change while adapting to the changes that are unavoidable–and to do so in ways that make the world more equitable and just, not less. 

The Union of Concerned Scientists describes three aspects of climate resilience: mitigation, adaptation, and justice. Mitigation means working to slow down the pace of climate change. Adaptation means “adjusting the ways we live, work, and play” so that we can care for one another given the realities that are already here. Justice means prioritizing the needs and the agency of those among us who face the greatest harm from climate change, such as people of color, people living in poverty, people with disabilities, seniors, and young children. 

The three aspects of climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and climate justice mirror some of the religious themes we lift up in UU communities and some of the themes lifted up in Jewish communities as we renew the liturgical year in the fall. In UU communities, we have practices of honesty, assessment, and repair that mirror the mitigation aspect of climate resilience. We have spiritual and community practices of grounding and transformation to keep us in relationship with each other and with the Spirit of Life, and these resonate with the adaptation aspect of climate resilience. In UU communities, we have strategies and practices that move us toward equity, healing, and liberation; these are connected with the justice aspect of climate resilience. 

Meanwhile, the Jewish-UU’s among us and our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors observing the High Holidays may be reflecting on teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah; sometimes translated as turning or repentance, spiritual practice or prayer, and righteousness or justice. All three are understood to be practices that are both individual and communal. Jewish environmental activists are quick to point out the relevance of teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah for facing up to the realities of climate change; for finding energy and hope in spiritual community for the work ahead; and taking action to care for each other and the earth so that all may thrive. [Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action is one place to start if you are interested in organizing for the planet from a Jewish perspective.]

If those definitions of teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah went by too fast, don’t worry, I will come back to them. My point here is that mitigation, adaptation, and justice–the three aspects of climate resilience–have spiritual and religious resonance, especially this time of year. 

First, let’s talk about mitigation. This is the first thing people usually think of with respect to climate action. This is the calling that is drawing some of our folks to public witness today, and we thank them for giving voice to this imperative. Nationally, we must fund the scientific research that gives us reliable data, we need to pay attention to that data, and change our policies and economic practices accordingly. As I just quoted from the Union of Concerned Scientists, switching from coal and gas to renewable energy is essential. Investing in clean and convenient public transit is essential. I am sure you are familiar with the whole menu of policy changes that go along with climate mitigation. 

For UU’s, climate mitigation is an aspect of our practice of speaking the truth in love. In our environmental consciousness, we take stock of what is actually happening with the climate and what is actually happening with strategies for fossil fuel elimination, we acknowledge harm, and we begin to put strategies in place that are within our power to do. 

Facing up to the truth is both spiritual and embodied. Becoming awake to reality, and being able to hold that reality without running to illusion or distraction, are some of the gifts of meditation. It takes strength of mind, heart, and soul to acknowledge truth and harm, and to conjure the hope and imagination necessary to turn toward change. 

On the practical side, our mitigation strategies are both local and global. Locally, we can use green energy when we have the opportunity. We can put time and talent and treasure into maintaining the building for maximum fuel efficiency. Your flexibility with remote work for your Minister, Music Director, and Administrator is also an aspect of mitigating climate harm. In the wider world, working with our denominational partners such as UU Faith Action, UU the Vote, and Side With Love, we harness our collective power to advocate for just, equitable, and sustainable state, national, and international policy. 

In Jewish communities around the High Holidays, making teshuvah, turning toward community and right relationship and away from harm, is one of the three points of emphasis. Teshuvah sometimes gets translated as “repentance,” and it’s important to understand that that word has different resonance in the Jewish tradition than it does in the Christian-dominated general understanding. 

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is the author of this year’s UUA Common Read, On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World. Drawing on the twelfth-century Jewish philosopher Maimonides, Ruttenberg describes the phases of teshuva and reads them through a trauma-informed lens. She writes that teshuva includes confession, starting to change, making amends, delivering an apology, and making a different choice in the future. It’s a relational process, not performative. 

The confession aspect, where we acknowledge the harm we have caused, is about basing our actions in truth. In our personal relationships and in our relationship with the earth, we need truth before we can begin repair. Teshuvah as applied to climate resilience means acknowledging what humans have done to the planet and turning toward change. 

During the High Holidays, Jewish communities listen to the sound of the shofar, a wind instrument made from a ram’s horn. The sound wakes up the people and calls them to turn again toward truth, connection, and right action. When I go to interfaith public witness events, it is not uncommon for my Jewish colleagues to bring a shofar. Sometimes we all need a signal that it is time to rally, time to rise, time to come together for transformation. Yet the sound of the shofar doesn’t last forever. At some point, the musician takes a breath. As we continue  teshuva, turning toward change, we add the phase of deepening our connections and adapting to life in right relationship. 

The second part of climate resilience, adaptation, is about how we invest in our communities and change the ways we live, work, and play, given the reality that climate change is here. Once again, the action steps available are individual, local, and global; with corresponding needs for institutional connection and collective organizing. We can start with something achievable on a smaller scale like planting trees in areas with a lot of asphalt to reduce extreme heat. Out in our cities and towns and statewide, we can advocate for investments in the electrical grid so that we have fewer power outages during extreme weather. Our organizing partners at the UUA and UU Faith Action New Jersey and experts like the Union of Concerned Scientists can help us to focus our work on the concrete, big-picture parts of adaptation. 

That being said, the adaptation that weaves into climate resilience is more than technical solutions and policy platforms. It is a question of how we care for each other and keep each other as safe as we can given the changes that are already taking place in a warming climate. We invoke the attitude of the two siblings in this morning’s Time for All Ages story, holding the wellbeing of others in our thoughts and letting a sense of abundance infuse our encounters with others. Adaptation means we must connect more deeply and truly and broadly than we have before, because we understand our interdependence more thoroughly than we ever have before. 

Connection and interdependence are theological words for us as Unitarian Universalists. Climate resilience is a conversation that belongs in spiritual community. In our songs, and our art, and our fellowship, and our learning, we are a people of imagination. We hold up a vision for a better world, and we do our best to create a foretaste of that better world among us. Mutual care and the practices of centering and connection that help us to keep that care flowing are some of the core purposes of a congregation. 

Maintaining the energy for life, let alone for climate action, requires that we also make time for love, for art, for awe and wonder. Anger and fear are real, and we need to acknowledge those feelings and cope with them, and also have room for the whole range of human experience so that we don’t burn out. [Joanna Macy is a Buddhist and Deep Ecology scholar who has written about this extensively. You can also check out the book Climate Resilience by Kylie Flanagan, which contains interviews with 39 climate leaders.] The practices of connection–connection with each other and with the ground of being–enliven our days and help us to stay on the path to a just and sustainable world. For people who pray, prayer might do the same. Yoga, hiking, creating fiber art, or singing are other practices that we can think of as spiritual. They are ways of being fully present, and can be gateways to understanding ourselves as part of something larger than ourselves. 

In Jewish community, this point resonates with tefillah, practices of prayer and spiritual connection. The ways of being that help people to feel rooted in their community and tradition, the habits that help people to find serenity and comfort in their higher power, the experiences that invoke a sense of awe and wonder, these bring strength to the individual and to the whole. People who are grounded and connected are better able to keep their commitments and to act in congruence with their values. Jewish climate activists suggest that tefillah encompasses not only formal prayer, but also everyday practices that show gratitude for the abundance with which we have been entrusted and that sanctify our interdependence with the earth. These practices can include things like composting, growing native plants, and using a rain barrel, especially if they are practices learned and shared in community. [If you are part of the Jewish community and interested in spiritual connections between people and the planet, check out Adamah, an organization that does classes, camps, and retreats.] An orientation of mindfulness can be part of adaptation and climate resilience. 

Even as we aggressively cut emissions, we know that it will take decades to mitigate the carbon pollution that is already here, and so we must adapt to a changing climate. There are community and public policy strategies for the practical parts of adaptation, and we will pursue those in our congregations, neighborhoods, and advocacy organizations. Yet we also need to remember that adaptation requires flexibility and cooperation. It is spiritual work, and we can support our ability to adapt with individual and collective spiritual practice. 

The third aspect of climate resilience is climate justice. We are aware that the people who have contributed the least to global warming are the people who are most at risk from its effects. In our local communities, we see this when fossil fuel plants and trash incinerators are located near the homes of marginalized people. We see it when the U.S. military shirks its responsibility to clean up shipyards and testing sites where they have left toxic waste around low income communities and communities of color. We see it when an extreme weather disaster is imminent and there is no credible plan to evacuate people with disabilities or low-income people without cars. Climate change affects everyone, and the harm falls disproportionately on those with the least privilege. 

Climate justice, therefore, prioritizes the needs and the agency of communities that have been marginalized as we make plans for mitigation and adaptation. As Unitarian Universalists, whether we approach describing ourselves from the perspective of the eight principles or from the perspective of the values and covenant in the proposed Article II revision, our UU movement has the pursuit of justice written into its DNA. Whether climate justice should be included among our concerns is not really a question. What we do need to consider is how we go about that work, and how we see the connections between other issues and climate justice. Advocacy for policies that keep people housed and protected from extreme weather is climate justice. Agricultural policy that dismantles institutional racism against farmers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color is part of climate justice. When we work with coalitions and community partners, and when we heed the leaders of organizations representing groups of people who are most affected by a given issue, we are more likely to notice the connections and to be part of the transformation toward a just, equitable, and sustainable world. 

Similarly, the UU-Jewish members among us and our Jewish family and friends add tzedakah to teshuva and tefilla as one of the three watch words for the High Holidays. Tzedakah can be translated as philanthropy or charity. Many families have a tzedakah box where children can put coins or a percentage of their allowance to donate to a worthy cause. But, more literally, tzedakah means justice or righteousness. [Aviya Kushner has an interesting exploration of this word in The Forward.] In Jewish wisdom, material support for those in need is about a realignment of resources. Tzedakah, righteous action, is an ethical obligation, not a spontaneous whim of pity or goodwill. So, Jewish activists organizing for equitable transit planning and clean air in low income communities are also performing acts of justice and righteousness; they are also doing tzedaka. [T'ruah is a Jewish organization doing human rights work, related to climate justice insofar as everything is related to the climate. Their name comes from one of the sounds of the shofar.]

As the autumn brings us together with a combination of weather patterns and liturgical traditions, we are reminded once again that we are part of something larger than ourselves. We are in a community of communities, interdependent with other people and the planet and the universe as a whole. As Unitarian Universalists, the Ingathering season reminds us of practices like speaking the truth in love, accepting accountability, caring for our neighbors in concrete ways, committing to contemplative practices that help us to adapt, and organizing for justice. Meanwhile, our Jewish neighbors are applying teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah to their own ethical commitments as they observe the High Holidays. And people of all faiths and no faith are waking up to the possibilities of climate resilience, combining the work of mitigation, adaptation, and justice. 

Climate resilience is broad and complex. We could be overwhelmed by all of the possibilities and connections, but the good news is that there are a number of places to start. Each one of us is called to accept our gifts and to use them in the spirit of love, and we each have a unique way of responding to that call. Some are drawn to mutual care, some to policy advocacy, some to public witness, some to building coalitions and community organizing, some to creating the moments of beauty and reflection that help sustain the community. It is a new year, time to begin again. The way you travel the path ahead may be uniquely your own. Yet let us travel together as we move toward repairing the world with sustainability, care, mindfulness, and justice. 

May it be so. 

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT SEO & MARKETING NEWS FOR ECOMMERCE, April 2024

It's time once again for my roundup of marketing and SEO news/resources for small and microbusinesses in ecommerce! April has been a very busy month, with a lot of Google & Meta news in particular.

Reminder that you can get news and my own posts from me a variety of ways:

blog emails (both Tumblr and my website blogs posts)

Patreon (the fastest and easiest way to get everything)

Bluesky

LinkedIn

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Don't know much about SEO but want to learn how it can help your ecommerce website? I've collected some trusted resources for you. (Bookmark that page for future use, as I plan to keep it updated.)

Google has recently been emphasizing that links to your site are not as crucial as they used to be. From Google’s John Mueller: “There are more important things for websites nowadays, and over-focusing on links will often result in you wasting your time doing things that don’t make your website better overall.” Here’s another instance of staff telling people you don’t need many links.

When doing keyword research, especially for niche/longtail terms, “think about think about 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 not search query volume.” Many less common searches will have a ton of slightly different variations, and a well-written piece will be able to target all of them. [It’s a good reason not to avoid really low search volume keywords that fit.]

Contrary to recent speculation, pages with ads on them can still rank well on Google; the real problem is ads that negatively affect the reader’s ability to use the page. 

Google has started testing its “Google Search Generative Experience” (AI) in regular organic search results. This was a US-only test, at first, but results have now been spotted in Australia, the UK and India as well. Note that Google’s AI still provides really lousy responses for lots of questions a full year after it debuted, including making stuff up. 

Google has been taking a lot of heat for bad results lately, especially for ranking forum sites above quality experts. SEOs have been piling on, and Google is getting a bit defensive, saying that sometimes it is just showing what people want to see. 

If you missed some Google changes in March, here is a complete accounting of all the updates. 

Not Google

Bing is apparently going to follow Google, as it is testing removal of cache links. 

SOCIAL MEDIA - All Aspects, By Site

General

A lot of people are confused about what “federated” social media means, so here’s a chat [text and audio] with the CEO of Bluesky that covers that and other goals of the social media site that started as part of Twitter but is now fully separate. Bluesky posts can also now be embedded on websites. 

Twitch is one of several social media sites introducing a feed similar to TikTok’s, for both livestreams and recorded videos. 

Facebook (includes relevant general news from Meta)

Meta is rolling out its new political filter to Instagram and Threads, requiring users to opt in if they want to see political content. The change will be added to Facebook in the future. 

Starting in May, all AI-generated content on Facebook, Instagram and Threads will display a “Made with AI” label, Meta announced. “The old policy prohibits videos created or edited using AI tools that make a person say something they didn’t but doesn’t cover the wide range of AI-generated content that has recently flooded the web.” 

Meta’s new AI assistant pulls results directly from Google and Bing, in real time. 

Meta’s Advantage + Shopping Campaigns have new targeting capabilities, allowing advertisers to select interested accounts that are not current customers. 

Beware of Facebook ads glitches that many companies report have increased their costs.

If you aren’t happy with the traffic and interaction on Facebook, consider trying some of these 8 tips. [infographic with some text]

Court documents revealed that Meta tracked some of Facebook users’ activity on other apps such as Snapchat, perhaps without adequate disclosure. 

In yet another court action, advertisers who placed ads on Facebook and Instagram have a class action for $7 billion, claiming Meta reported more ad views than actually occurred. “The advertisers suing Meta allege that the Potential Reach metric used by the company to determine advertising costs relies on the total number of social media accounts rather than individual users. They argue that this approach is problematic because it could include bot and fake accounts, resulting in advertisers paying more money for their ads to be served to bots.” 

Instagram

Instagram has some pointers for getting more interaction on Stories. 

Here is a comprehensive list of various features on Instagram that might be useful to promoting and selling, including very recent updates. 

LinkedIn

A study of LinkedIn posts in 2022 and 2023 revealed a few tips for getting more engagement.

Because everyone wants to be TikTok, LinkedIn is beta testing a short video format. “While you have always been able to post videos on LinkedIn, the new dedicated feed is  designed to boost engagement and discovery on the platform by presenting bite-sized videos that people can quickly scroll through.”

Reddit

There’s been a lot written about how Reddit and other forum websites are really benefiting from high Google rankings for many basic knowledge queries; this article details Reddit’s search rise in the past year. “The most visible URL in r/buyitforlife, for example, is a thread on the “best coffee maker” which gets an estimated 10980 organic clicks per month. This one thread on one subreddit, on one domain which competes for visibility with nytimes.com, epicurious.com, target.com, cnn.com and bestbuy.com, to name just five on the list of over 1000 domains that are also on the competitor list for the URL.”

Threads

Threads users in the US, Canada and Japan can now cross post in the fediverse. This mostly works with Mastodon at the moment. 

It looks like Meta is going to make advertising available on Threads in the second half of 2024, which is earlier than expected. 

TikTok

TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program is now out of beta, and rewards users for 4 different metrics: “Originality, Play duration, Search value [and] Audience engagement.”

Tiktok’s photo app has now launched: "TikTok Notes” is now available in Australia and Canada [article contains screenshots of the app]. 

Twitter

No, Twitter is not currently at its highest traffic ever; the graph Musk tweeted was estimated web traffic only. Roughly 80% of Twitter’s traffic is through the app. 

Twitter may be banned in Brazil if the company doesn’t comply with government orders to block some accounts there. In related news, Bluesky is now allowing heads of state to open accounts, after their surge in Brazil. Brazil’s president was the first to sign up. 

YouTube

YouTubers now must admit when they use artificial intelligence (AI) in their creations, other than the most minor changes or “generating scripts, content ideas, or automatic captions.” This will be an interesting development to watch, as there are probably other platforms considering this type of rule right now. 

Over 25% of YouTube Shorts creators are receiving money from their short term videos’ revenue sharing option. Here’s how to monetize your Shorts. There are also increased ad opportunities for Shorts now. 

Buffer analyzed YouTube videos posted through its site to find the best times to release your pieces. “The best time to post on YouTube is on Friday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m….Other high-view times are Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Thursday at 6 p.m.” [Worth reading if you rely on YouTube for views, as it also includes tips on increasing traffic.]

(CONTENT) MARKETING (includes blogging, emails, and strategies) 

With so much AI-generated content out there, anyone writing new pieces will need to rise above computer-generated regurgitation. Make sure your posts contain new information, such as your own tests or personal experience, or go way beyond the superficial. 

Yahoo is beta-launching its new creator platform, “Yahoo for Creators”, for lifestyle content from writers and influencers. Participation is currently by invite only. 

This is a decent calendar for planning an entire year of content marketing around theme days/weeks and special events. It’s not too early to plan your content marketing for May; there are several major events and holidays to work around. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (EXCEPT INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL MEDIA AND ECOMMERCE SITES) 

Google Shopping now allows US buyers to upvote or downvote suggested items, to help Google find what you are looking for. 

If you program your own Google Shopping ads, be aware of recent and upcoming changes in several feed areas. 

The 2023 Google Ads safety report claims they are restricting far more ads and suspending more accounts than previously. How come they can’t stop the scammers advertising a “support phone number” for Etsy then? 

Instagram ads are more profitable for Meta than YouTube ads are for Google, according to legal documents. 

STATS, DATA, TRACKING 

Periodic reminder that while the Google Search Console is often the best Google stats package we have access to, it is still missing a lot of data. 

You can use the Google Search Console and Google Analytics to diagnose traffic changes on your website; here are a few tips.  

BUSINESS & CONSUMER TRENDS, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

“Pre-loved” clothing is on the verge of taking 10% of the world fashion market. “[T]he US secondhand market grew seven times faster than overall fashion retail where sales were flat in 2023 from a year earlier.”

An oldie but a goodie: how to write an apology letter to customers. One that companies often miss is “Explain clearly what you or the company will do differently next time to avoid this happening again.” When a business screws up badly, I want to know how the problem will be prevented in the future. 

IMAGES, VIDEO, GRAPHIC DESIGN, & FREE ONLINE TOOLS

Canva has purchased Affinity, potentially making the platform more attractive to those with professional design skills. The 2 companies have now confirmed that Affinity users can keep their one-time licenses, and will not be forced into subscription plans. 

MISCELLANEOUS

Michaels has reduced prices on over 5,000 items, some as low as pre-2019 prices. “Prices on frequently purchased items including paint, markers and pens have been reduced up to 15%, papers and stickers up to 20%, canvases up to 35% and T-shirts up to 40%, among other reductions.” This could affect anyone competing with Michaels in these areas. 

[aceartistactivist]

Hey, trying to answer your questions

In resume it’s like you have ONE account. You have two blogs but they’re still the same account.

So unfortunately you can’t have different dashs (timelines) or follow people in one blog but not in the other because its the same account.

If you want to have a similar experience to instagram and twitter you’d have to create another account, using another email

So you have your main blog, that’s your first blog and the one where you can see the posts you liked and the people you follow. You always follow people and like posts from your main blog, but can reblog and make posts in your side blogs. Side blogs are the other blogs you create and you can have a lot

So for example, I’ve reblogged stuff from you to my side blogs @bluetheoutcast and @a4lesbian, but here when I’m sending an ask its automatically sending the ask from my main blog @bluelric, and that’s the blog it shows in the notifications when i follow someone or like a post. Because of this there’s people who put in the bio of theirs side blogs “i follow from @‘name of main blog’”

Anyway, i hope this was helpful and I’m sorry you can’t have the different timelines with different vibes. This is just how tumblr works

Btw, if you see someone saying “dash” thats how people call tumblr’s timeline

Ohhh okay thank you for telling me. Good to know it's not just my technology curse

I can't like stuff or follow people as this account? That sucks 😭

But I mean, originally, my intention was to make a separate account with a different email and such, but I couldn't figure out how to do that cause the only "make a new blog" option thing just led me here and didn't give me an option to change my email or password or anything so I was like 🤷

...so, thinking about it, I would probably have to log out of my main before trying to create a new account? And then I'd have to log out and log back in every time I wanted to switch accounts? I'm too lazy for that but good to know it's Tumblr being weird and not me being dumb

[eazy-group]

Jamie lost 32 pounds

New Post has been published on https://eazydiet.net/jamie-lost-32-pounds/

Jamie lost 32 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Jamie lost 32 pounds. At the start of her journey, two of her loved ones faced significant medical challenges and she had every reason to quit, but she refused to give up. She worked with a nutrition coach, worked out consistently, and was accountable for her goals.

Social Media: Facebook: Jamie Lynn TikTok: jamminwithjayonce Instagram: @jamminwithjayonce

What was your motivation? What inspired you to keep going, even when you wanted to give up?  First, I would say you MUST have a made-up mind! After seeing the scale read 207 pounds, I had reached my breaking point. During phase 1 of the Terry Starks program, my father had just gotten out of 6-week medically induced coma!!! Then, on the 4th of July, my husband tore his patellar tendon and had to have surgery within days. His injury has a 6 to 9-month recovery process. 

I had EVERY REASON to quit, but that made me fight even harder for it. My life during this time was filled with many things I couldn’t control. My meal plan and consistent workouts were the only things I felt I could actually control. My workouts became more than physical but therapeutic. Terry also sent daily emails that kept me motivated and helped to hold me accountable.

How did you change your eating habits? I’ve always enjoyed working out, but as we know, that’s only 20%. So I decided to contact Terry Starks, nutritional coach, for help and guidance on food. I have tried everything from keto, intermittent fasting, calorie counting, etc. The results were not there for me and my body type. 

The most significant light bulb moment for me was when Terry stated, “You are not eating enough.” I was shocked to learn I needed to eat five meals daily to increase my metabolism. I set up alarm reminders on my phone for each meal. 

Another major lesson for me was that I stopped eating dairy. I didn’t think I was a big dairy person, BUT this has been a game changer for me and my body type. Last but not least, and probably the HARDEST thing, was to no salt. I’m not talking about table salt but looking at labels to find food/seasonings with no salt. I never realized how salt is in EVERYTHING. Thankful that many products are not creating no-salt versions. My most exciting find is Ketchup with no salt added.

What is your workout routine? Mainly, I do cardio, but last month, I started incorporating more light weights. I work out every morning during the week (5 days) at 6 am and use YouTube at-home workout videos. My favorites are Grow with Jo and Juice and Toya.

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight? Starting weight: 207 pounds Current weight: 175 pounds

What is your height? I’m 5’7″.

When did you start your journey? How long did your transformation take? I started in June 2023, while on a family vacation to the largest indoor waterpark, where I was forced to wear swimming suits for most of the trip. I decided to reach out Terry, whom I was following on Facebook, to begin my transformation journey. I had seen him post several weight loss transformations, but in June I got enough nerve to reach out and see what his program was all about. I had never worked with a nutritionist before, so was curious to learn more about the process.

Is weight loss surgery part of your journey?  No

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far?  To lose weight, you have to eat more. More of the right things, of course, but don’t starve yourself or try and do one big meal earlier in the day.

What advice do you have for women who want to lose weight?  Just start and be consistent. My weight loss journey taught me about faith. Being able to see past right now to where you want to be. A lot of times, we don’t think things are achievable because we don’t see them. Keep going and pushing in spite of because you got this.  

WATER! Even if you think you drink a lot of water, drink MORE!! I truly try to drink a gallon of water a day. 

Sometimes, start with one change. Then, in a couple of weeks, add on another goal so you can have a sense of accomplishment. This is how I motivated myself.

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[venmoappsreview]

How to Add Money To Your Venmo Account?

Add money to Venmo +1(909) 235-7144 is a fairly simple process. First, you need to link your bank account or debit card to your Venmo account. Once that is done, click on the "Add Money" button found on the home screen of your Venmo account, and enter the amount of money you want to add. You can then select which funding source you would like to use (i.e., your linked bank account or debit card) and confirm the payment details before processing it. If you have any trouble with adding money or linking an account/card, there are various help resources available online through Venmo's website and app that can guide you through each step of the process. Overall, adding funds to your Venmo wallet should only take a few minutes and allows for easy peer-to-peer transactions.

How To Create a Venmo account?

Learn how to create a Venmo account and start sending and receiving money with ease. Our step-by-step guide will walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. Sign up today and join the millions of people using Venmo to make payments and split expenses.

To create a Venmo account, you will need to download the Venmo app on your smartphone device. Once you have downloaded the app, you can start the account creation process by tapping the "Create an account" button located at the bottom of the screen. You will then be asked to provide your phone number or email address and create a password for your account.

After creating an account, you will need to verify your identity to ensure that your Venmo account is secure. Venmo requires users to provide their full legal name, date of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. This information is used to confirm your identity and provide you with additional security measures to protect your account.

How To Add Money To Venmo? Easy Method

You can use Venmo if you have enough funds in your account. Fortunately, adding money to your Venmo account is an easy and quick process. In this essay, I will explain a simple method for "How To Add Money To Venmo account.

The first step to adding money to your Venmo account is to link your bank account or debit card with your Venmo account. To do this, log in to your Venmo account and click on the ‘Settings’ button. Next, click on the ‘Payment Methods’ tab and add your bank account or debit card information. Once your account is verified, you can start adding money to your Venmo account.

To add money to your Venmo account, click on the ‘Add Money’ button on the home screen of the Venmo app. Next, enter the amount you want to add to your account and choose the payment method you want to use. You can choose to add money from your bank account or debit card. Once you have selected the payment method, confirm the transaction and the money will be added to your Venmo account instantly.

Troubleshooting Common Issues with Adding Money to Venmo?

Some Venmo users have complained about issues when trying to add money to their Venmo accounts. One common issue is the Venmo payment method not working. To troubleshoot this issue, a user can try linking a different payment method or contacting Venmo customer support for assistance.

Another issue that users may face is an error message that says, “Sorry, we couldn’t add your payment method.” The reason for this error could be that the payment method is already linked to another Venmo account or it is expired. To fix this issue, users can unlink the payment method from the other account or get a new payment method from their bank.

Lastly, some users have reported receiving an error message that says, “Payment declined” when trying to add money to their Venmo account. This error can happen if the payment method has insufficient funds or if there is a hold on the account. To fix this issue, a user can try adding a different payment method or contacting their bank to remove the hold on their account.

[givemmorg]

How do i unlock my mac email account

#How do i unlock my mac email account how to#

#How do i unlock my mac email account password#

#How do i unlock my mac email account how to#

You can then follow up with a photocopy of some ID and ask how to proceed. If the person on the phone can't help, just ask them if there is a postal mail address or person you can appeal for help in resetting the email address used for your Apple ID. (yes, I'm sure you know your birthday, but it could have been entered incorrectly or become corrupted along the way)ĭo try calling support one last time with some billing history and ask if you can provide a list of Apps and/or songs you purchased or have them ask you some of the history. If you have triggered the account to be into a locked status due to too many failed log in attempts, you will need the help of a human to get it unlocked when you no longer can receive email or answer both the birth day question and the security question to a machine's satisfaction. Any books, movies, or music distributed with DRM are also available without DRM if you look. (b) Your supporting the DRM technologies which create these problems. Google isn't finding anything for me though.Īs an aside, you should never buy DRM protected content in the first palce because : (a) Eventually you'll lose access one way or another, often by the company discontinuing the service. If it only give you encrypted music, then theoretically the iPod knows the authorization keys, meaning you've a slim chance someone discovered a trick for using the iPod's authorization to decrypt your music. Try any that look promising.ĭo you have an iPod? If so, try Graeme Hutchison suggestion. A priori, I'd imagine most/all require authorization since that's the easiest way, but perhaps some clever one does not. You say you still have the files themselves, yes? There are a variety of tools for removing iTunes DRM. But maybe you could get your account back by contacting Apple's legal department in writing. Imho, this sounds like way way too much hassle for a few hundred bucks. You could theoretically sue Apple in small claims court. Do not lie to your credit card company, simply push the dispute process as far as possible, the further it goes the more money they charge Apple. I doubt you'll get your money back, but you have a legitimate dispute with Apple, so stick them the dispute resolution merchant fees, which might cost as much as $30 per song. You're beyond the 60 day period, but maybe not the 1 year "claims and defenses" period. If Apple won't help, then collect your old credit card bills with iTunes charges, and speak with your credit card company about contesting those charges. You could warn them that you plan on contesting credit card charges if they cannot restore the account. Your iTunes account was presumably associated with your credit card, yes? You could attempt to prove you identity to Apple via that credit card connection. Is there a work around to this problem? The songs are stored on my computer – I just can’t play them. So, I have purchased hundreds of songs that I cannot play now. After going up three levels of Apple customer service, I was told that there was absolutely nothing they could do for me. When I called Apple to see if we could do something to unlock the account and tie it to my new account (which would have the same name, address, and other personal information), I was informed that Apple cannot unlock the account and that I had to have access to the old email account to access the account and authorize this new computer to play the music. Apple then locked my account for incorrectly answering the questions. I soon figured out that none of the questions matched my personal information so I am wondering if these questions were ever associated with my original iTunes account. I next tried the street I grew up on and that did not work either. I did so and Apple said that my answer was incorrect. The first one that came up was to enter my birthdate. Recognizing that I could not access the dead email account, I asked to answer the security questions.

#How do i unlock my mac email account password#

I clicked on the “forgot my password” link and Apple gave me the option of answering a few security questions or having my password sent to my email address. I tried several of my “usual” passwords, but none of them worked. When I clicked through the authorization screen, my original email address came up and asked for my password. I recently tried to play an Album and an error message came up that said that this computer was not authorized to play the songs and that I would need to access my account to authorize the new computer. Fortunately, I had my iTunes music backed up and when I purchased a new computer, I uploaded my songs. In the meantime, my computer on which my original iTunes account died. The original email address associated with my Apple account is no longer valid. I later moved my account to a personal rather than corporate email address and I have since changed jobs. When I originally set up my iTunes account, I used an email address from my prior employer.

[tonkidenver]

Keywe friend pass

#Keywe friend pass full

#Keywe friend pass code

Hi Dextv! We really apologize for the difficulties you are experiencing with the new app. Unless you have telepathic control, I don't recommend. There's no place to create a new account. And the the "Contact us" link doesn't work. At some point that quit working and the app store listed it as "old" but there is a new keywe3 app (green)- that has less options than the previous app and I can't go back - unless I delete the new app and start over? I tried to contact the company but the website says I'm not registered thru my Gmail even though I can see my lock in the app and it lists my email. The first keywe app I had was black - and it put an app on my apple watch.

#Keywe friend pass full

If there was a way to get some longer times options for it to stay in those modes (maybe 1 minute, 1:30, 2 mins) it would be phenomenal and would definitely be a full 5 stars! Otherwise, no other real complaints right now! Not an issue most of the time but when it’s pouring rain, the magic touch or smart open would be really nice. When I drive up, it recognizes that “hey, he’s home, time to get ready!” and by the time I get back to the door after parking, the longest setting (30 seconds) has already passed and I’m stuck putting in my passcode or opening the app and using it directly. My issue is I have to drive up to my home and then back into my garage. When it actually does work (which is actually pretty often, more often than not), it’s just too short of a duration. It has some flaws, doesn’t like to connect sometimes, or resets its settings to “only when using app” so my “magic touch” option doesn’t work for me. I’m a huge fan of the lock itself, works great in cold (-30 some days), rain, direct sun, etc. You will see more features and news about the KeyWe smart system. Please visit the KeyWe and KeyWe online shop. KeyWe’s got you.Įxperience the smart world with an easy registration. How many properties do you have? No Problem. Now, the KeyWe app can manage multiple properties. My house, my parents’ home, and the office - simply control multiple door locks with one app. When you touch your door lock with your hand, it unlocks. The door lock unlocks automatically when you approach the door lock with your smartphone based on the location tracking system.įeel unsafe with your door opening automatically? Try the 'Magic Touch' option. You can check the record of who has entered the house and when for the past two months. The safety of your home starts at your door. (Some Lock types offer more features than others. Get push notifications when your family gets home. Not only is it easy to invite, but very useful to manage your guests. When you have the KeyWe lock and app, it’s super easy to invite your guest on Airbnb.

#Keywe friend pass code

You got a delivery coming but you can’t be at home? Just send a Pin Code valid for only 5 minutes from the One Tap Invite. You can set up a date and time as you wish. Use the app to easily invite your family, friends, and guests. If it is not a KeyWe original Lock with KeyWe logo, the new app will not support it. Important: This App supports KeyWe original locks only. With the KeyWe smart system, you are always in control of your door. Lastly - yes, it's just the nondescriptive links to the corresponding wishlist entries.Control your door lock from your Smartphone. It's also by no means complete, and titles that were or still are going to be featured during today's coverage may get added in another post. that aren't already on the master list, have not been mentioned otherwise here and/or haven't been confirmed, officially or unofficially, for release on GoG yet.