#at their current rate of user growth

[butch4maryoliver]

i have got to make more queer art

[staff]

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

[artfight]

RESULTS ARE IN...

At long last, the newspost you've all been waiting for is finally here! In addition to the results of the event, we also have a fun surprise for you... Be sure to read the newspost in full! A summarized version (without spoilers) is available under the Read More.

Seafoam v Stardust Merch

Enamel pins for this year's theme are available for a limited time through Makeship. They are bundled and cost $19.99 (not including shipping fees).

User Growth Statistics

As of August 2024, there are over ONE MILLION users registered on-site. 425,217 of them participated during the event and 196,833 were new users. For reference, 258,279 users participated in last year's event.

Bubble Tea MAP

Be sure to check out the official Art Fight 2024 MAP, hosted by Scribedhearts and Cyxxie!

Off-season Site

You cannot submit attacks when there is no current event ongoing. However, you are still free to browse & submit characters!

To keep point totals accurate, site moderators are no longer going through rating reports and will be closing them. All other report types will still be worked on.

Achievements

You can expect to receive 2024's achievements sometime before next year's fight. Please be patient, as the assets are works in progress.

Minigames

Want more opportunities to draw for others? Check out our Minigames, which we host on our Discord server! We do not have an ETA for their opening at this time, though you can expect them within the next few months.

Feedback

We have a variety of feedback forms available for you, including a suggestion form for 2025's theme. Please see the end of the newspost for those links!

[mecachrome]

landoscar ao3 stats — 2023 overview

notes

retrieved ~sometime in march 2024

methodology: scraped metadata for every fic in the landoscar tag and...... that's it. however one important constraint is that all temporal data is date updated (not posted), so the above timeline isn't exactly a true representation of fic growth but rather how many fics were last-updated at that time. of course this is still its own reflection of fandom health in a way since dead fandoms don't update old fic but well... it's just not quite the same!

this is just info about general trends, fic content, tags etc... so nothing about kudos/comments or any authors specifically

i decided to focus solely on fics last-updated in 2023 (unless otherwise mentioned) because i wanted a tidy set that i can maybe compare & contrast in a year's time, because i expect a lot of details to look different then (tho as stated above this set isn't exactly static... 🤷‍♀️)

ngl i had to re-scrape a bunch of times because i forgot about it for like 3 weeks and then there were 100 new fics 😭 so if there are some minor discrepancies across the post it's because of that halfskh.

also i wanted to include more global comparisons (aka how 814 stack up against the f1 rpf tag in general), but this is also considerably difficult in some contexts since i can't exactly scrape 31,000+ fics can i... or i didn't even want to entertain the thought of trying to do so!!!

why did i do this? who knows.

anyway here's some viz T__T

ship growth

as evidenced in the opening graph, landoscar have been a very fast-growing ship over the past year — although interestingly enough they didn't really start growing substantially until july / the ~better half~ of the 2023 season. here are two views showing their "growth" (by date updated) alongside two other ships on the fringes of the f1 rpf top 10 (sebchal & galex):

landoscar are very much on-track to surpass them and officially enter the top 10 soon, likely before mid-april ❗️ :o

ship characteristics

onto the ship content — another thing i was mildly curious about was how landoscar differs in certain areas from other f1 ships, or the f1 rpf "global" average you could say. for example, here's a breakdown of rating popularity in their ao3 tag:

seeing as explicit is their most common rating, and that i don't necessarily expect this to be true for all ships/fandoms, i compared these percentages with the general f1 rpf tag to see whether some ratings are more commonly represented in 814 fic than average, which produced interesting results:

do lando ships simply skew more HornyTM in general? is it oscar? a secret third thing??? who knows... actually i think it would be fun to do more analysis in this direction but that can wait for another time!!!

similarly i also wanted to see which ships are the most "public" on ao3, as in have the highest share of fic that isn't user-locked... i will refrain from peppering in my feelings about the 4th wall too heavy-handedly but i was curious to see whether some sort of perhaps... er, generational gap (?) of sorts between ships that are more public vs. not could be identified. however i don't pretend to have any takeaways from this LOL i conclude absolutely nothing. (for ref landoscar is currently 72% public, vs. a global avg of 63%)

note that this graph is current stats, not filtered for 2023

looking at relationship tags, i also wanted to know whether landoscar suffer noticeably from Second-Ship Syndrome, so i tallied the first-tagged ship of every fic to find out. i know this doesn't necessarily mean that it's always the "main" ship but it's a good enough approximation. the results were quite positive!

filtered to top ships with count of >1 only

i then also calculated the number of ships tagged for each fic to discern the profile of multi-shipping in 814 ficdom; i did have to do a little bit of string standardization (all instances of implied / background / hinted collapsed to hinted for simplicity's sake + removal of other redundancies), but otherwise i left everything mostly untouched.

as you can see, landoscar also have a fairly promising amount of OTP: TRUE fic:

by the time you get to the fics with 10+ ships tagged, landoscar are less likely to be the primary ship, which makes sense just on a basic statistical level... this is also a very small sample size though

i also lazily tallied the 10 most common ships that weren't NOR/PIA or NOR & PIA to diff their shares of the 814 tag vs. of the general f1 rpf tag, to see which other pairings are more represented in the 814 tag than on average (because lestappen are the most popular by pure count but this is also true of fandom in general, so it would be a misrepresentation to say that their popularity is out of the ordinary):

maxiel's gap isn't really that surprising since i think that, generationally, in terms of when both pairings were teammates there is quite a gap; with carlando—actually let me tally this again but including all instances of "implied" and "past" as being part of the same ship, since that's how ao3 tag-wrangles as well:

Aha ! obviously as a direct ship there is competition between 814 and other lando or oscar ships, but this difference is somewhat less pronounced once we include all formats. tbh none of this really means anything but i thought i'd add it anyway... (it's also very possible that there are several errors in this, in which case my b 😔)

before we move on to additional tags, there are a few more basic characteristics of 814 fic we can calculate. i realize i never offered an overview of Super Basic Stats, so here are a few:

plus, looking at word counts, here is a distribution of those in 2023-updated fic, which shows that a majority of 814 fics were under the 5k mark:

85% of landoscar fics were under 10k & nearly 97% under 25k

i don't really have any reason to believe that landoscar's wc stats differ significantly from average ? so this is kind of just Data To Have Data, and it most likely reflects normal ao3 trends in general... but i thought i'd include it anyway because i already made it lol. similarly, here are word count distributions but stratified by rating:

& same info but heat map view:

i feel like this is also probably something you'd find across fandom in general — that gen fic is likely to have a higher share of under 1k works, since Building Up to sexual content often takes... Literal & Metaphorical Foreplay ! and the longer a fic is the more opportunities an author has to include a sex scene or other explicit content (ofc, not necessarily just porn but also graphic violence & so on). but i thought this was fun to visualize haha

additional tags & aus?

back in my old f1 rpf stats post, i made a table comparing fluff/angst "ratios" (not exactly a direct ratio because of how tag wrangling works, but an approximation) of the most popular f1 ships, and now that landoscar are somewhat popular i thought i'd first do an update:

also current data, not 2023 to make things easier

just like before, simi are one of the most fluffy ships and brocedes are by far the most angsty, but it's interesting to see 814 also extremely high up on the charts, with far and away the lowest % of angst. will be exciting 2 see how that holds or changes as the seasons progress !

finally, i also wanted to do a bit of au/additional tag analysis because you can kind of see this when you use additional filters on ao3 but the previews are limited and get bogged down by the prevalence of *checks notes* Fluff, Angst, PWP, Anal Sex and what have you. which are nice stats to have and all but what of the rest !

disclaimer that the set for these tables is a biiiit outdated because by the time i'd wrangled everything i was like I Am Not Changing It Again. unfortunately i clean my data with shoddy queries and regex functions in googsheetz...

there were 48 tags with at least 10 instances from 2023 fics, shown below, with ones that are (some ~vaguely) nsfw in red just to kind of get a rough sense of which tags get commonly used in M/E fic:

getting a bit too much into small sample size / specific fic territory so if you're an author i sincerely apologize for that... do not mean 2 put u on blast... TT__TT but i also tried to tally the most popular aus people write for 814, which is a bit dubious because people tag in really different ways and i had to accommodate for a lot of string formats but ... it's close enough ! (?)

i feel like this is very little interesting info but idk what else to add so i will stop here for now... well!!! if you made it to the end i hope u learned something or even vaguely enjoyed reading T__T and most of all thank you :')

[getvalentined]

The Short Patreon Breakdown

Basic version of this post, for people with no attention span. For details on each of these points, please see the original post.

1. The iOS processing fees are a smokescreen covering up the actual devastating changes that Patreon is forcing creators into—including doing away with the two billing models used by most of the highest-earning creators on the platform, regardless of the impact this will have on their livelihood.

2. Patreon is not going to change course for any reason. This is set in stone. CEO Jack Conte himself has been having one-on-one meetings and calls with the platform's top earners, and clearly has no interest in their actual grievances or how their businesses operate—only in getting them to stop complaining.

3. Patreon has offered no proof of their claims that the iOS app is responsible for 40 percent of the engagement on the platform—and also refuse to define what "engagement" means. Staff rebuff all requests for detailed analytics or data on the revenue share coming from the app, but did not refute the possibility that dismissing an app notification counted as "engagement."

4. Patreon does not have a refund policy in place to work with Apple in order to protect creators from malicious chargebacks, and has given no indication of any intent to work with Apple to shorten the time it takes for funds from iOS purchases to be paid out to creators—which is currently 75 days.

5. Patreon's own graphics meant to explain why this is necessary and how the new fees work are not correct: the fee structure graphic features a copying error that results in incorrect math, and adding together everything on the bar graph showing the daily active users by avenue of access comes to a total of 103 percent. They are woefully unprepared to share this information, and are putting it on us for "not understanding."

6. Patreon refuses to offer any promises to 18+ creators that they will not be removed from the app in order to adhere to Apple's content guidelines, instead only saying they currently have no plans to remove us from the app. Questioning this was met with a reminder that they've had to change the TOS for 18+ creators before.

7. All the features Patreon is insisting are integral for creator growth are inaccessible to 18+ creators, and questions about this were either dismissed, redirected, or ignored. 18+ creators can't even be found on either app, but we're being forced to cater to iOS' terms anyway, with claims that it's because all creators need the app in order to grow. Even though we can't utilize it.

8. Patreon's iOS app is currently* in violation of Apple's guidelines for app ratings; staff did not state any intention to become compliant by raising the app's rating as needed to maintain their 18+ creator community, only declaring that they're "exploring options." Per Apple's guidelines, the "options" are to either raise the rating to 17+, cutting off access for the wealthy teenagers with iPhones to which the platform is so dedicated they'll kneecap their top earner in order to court, or kick all 18+ creators off the platform. (This includes horror, true crime, health, trauma recovery, and more, not just sexual content.) *Current as of August 18, 2024.

Do not let the 30 percent App Store fee distract you from what's really going on here. Patreon is crippling a huge portion of their creators, including a horde of their top earners—and the single most profitable creator on the entire platform—and offering no legitimate reasons why. The amount of money they're losing from these creators restructuring or leaving altogether totals in the millions within a single month of activity. This isn't even about money, it's about something else—and there's no way to know what, because Patreon is giving us nothing.

[ishouldgetatumbler]

Hisoka and greed Island

One of the accusations levied against Togashi as a writer and Hisoka as a character is his inconisistant characterization.

He teams up with the protaganists, avoids conflicts with those on greed island, and generally behaves "strangely" during greed island. Lets talk about that.

First, lets talk goals.

Hisoka is primarily interested in fighting strong people, not just that, in this moment he is coming off of trying to fight Chrollo and being denied. Chrollo losing his nen to Kurapika removes him as currently viable target to enjoy fighting

He has spent several years attempting to set up a fight with Chrollo, dreaming specifically of a 1 on 1 conflict where the spiders will not interfere to protect their leader. He joined the spiders, fought in heaven's arena and joined the Greed Island game all in an attempt to set up this meeting.

While he's on the island, the specific events taking place are of very little interest to him, beyond meeting an exorcist able to remove Kurapika's curse and fight Chrollo in exchange.

Now that we have the groundwork set, lets talk about specific opponents Hisoka chooses not to fight by the order he meets them.

1. Bisky

The primary reason Hisoka chooses not to fight Bisky is her ability. Mostly, her ability is to hide her physical and magical capacity from viewers. This is an interesting portion of nen user's primary focus. Frankily, it would be a pain in the ass to fight violence obsessed pedophiles everytime you go for groceries. Ging does something similar, using a stand-in and avoiding being near the majority hunters during the election.

The secondary reasoning is that she is training Gon and Killua. They won't be "ripe" by the time she's done training them here, but after she trains them again during the Chimera Ant Arc, Hisoka decides Killua is ripe enough to kill. Fighting her here would severly hamper their growth rate.

2. Razor

Hisoka decides not to fight razor, instead focusing on... beating him at volleyball?

This is, I believe, for a very simple reason: Hisoka wants to avoid getting kicked off the island. If pressed, it's likely Razor would evoke a Game Master card, sending Hisoka off the island at best, making him unable to fight Chrollo.

The other reason, though this is more headcanon, is that he realizes something Gon does not; A lot of Razor's nen is tied up in greed island. 7 devils is, unlike many of the nen master abilities we see, pretty weak, limited and small scale. When compared to White Gorenue and Black Gorenue, it also offers less utlity. The most comparable ability is Tocino's 11 Black Children, which... that guy died in 2 seconds against Franklin, someone generally beneath Hisoka's interest.

Razor mentions, somewhat casually, that he handles the emmsive systems for the game. This includes teleporting players from an unspecified distance to Greed Island, spell projectiles and a million other things. This sounds like it would eat up a large portion of his "memory" as Hisoka calls it, leaving him with only enough power for 7 devils.

[endcant]

a big reason why i personally respond very strongly and publicly about internet censorship bills is because every tool and support ive ever had to understand my trauma, cope with my mental health issues, historically contextualize my experiences, and become a somewhat functional adult, were all found online. the friends who support me found me online. my ability to do my art business & be my authentic self in the same place at the same time is thanks to the expressive powers of the internet. almost nothing good in my life would have been possible if there was legislation like KOSA enacted when i was a child. which is why i have been openly speaking out against legislation like this ever since i was a child.

one example of the problem here is that the heritage foundation intends to use KOSA as a way to sue websites into censoring information about LGBT+ issues and sex/reproductive health. they said it publicly, and i have no reason to think they’re bluffing. the heritage foundation is also the main party behind Project 2025 (an authoritarian agenda for the U.S. political right published and free to read online). they should be taken seriously because they have proudly played a massive role in deciding what Republican public policy be will be since the Reagan administration. if you are politically active online at all and don’t know whether your most dearly held causes are under threat by this group, type “the heritage foundation’s stance on” into your favorite search engine, take a look at the recommended searches, and get ready to have a very bad time. (…unless you’re one of those rare far-right political users on this site, in which case you’d probably have a pretty good time)

this is happening alongside the recent growth of the “parental rights” movement, whose achievements include promoting book bans, trying to suppress any information they deem to be “Critical Race Theory”, as well as harassing and threatening people for supporting LGBT+ kids. they aim to silence any voices that don’t fall in line with their agenda. moms for liberty is a prominent example of a harmful “parental rights” activist group; they have repeatedly done things like this. i have no doubt that these groups would absolutely utilize KOSA to further prevent children from accessing important educational information.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the one of the two legislators who has spearheaded the push to pass this bill through the Senate, is a self identified “hard-core” “politically incorrect” conservative who came into the Senate during the Trump administration. She is also part of the larger Tennesseean right-wing political apparatus that has brought this state wonders like cities where public homosexuality is illegal, and a county where the juvenile detention rate approaches 50%. these people do not care about the wellbeing of children. they are doing awful things here that the majority of tennesseans do not support. there are many other recent, infamous examples of similar state and local human rights failures throughout the US. if you let them have their way, these post-Trump Republicans will do their best to bring this kind of nonsensical, authoritarian governance to the entire country and potentially the rest of the world, given the role that U.S. law plays in the reality of the international internet.

i have been mostly sharing others’ posts and contacting legislators on my own time, but on December 6th, a letter was published in support of KOSA that was signed by 200 organizations— largely mental health and childrens’ health related groups. i believe that far-right political groups will use KOSA to silence the kind of online information that helped me with my own mental health when i was a kid, and that kids are currently relying on today. ultimately, i think it is a shame that these 200 organizations think they can get away with publicly supporting a bill that is so widely criticized and politically fraught.

[lonestarflight]

Space Station Concepts: Power Tower

"It would provide maximized user viewing opportunities, a clear area for Shuttle dockings and versatility in Station growth. The design was also less sensitive to changes in mass caused by the addition of modules to the Station. The 'Power Tower' station's main structure was to be 122 meters tall with 75 kW solar panels sticking 41 meters to either side of the centerline.

"This is an artist's conception of the proposed 'Power Tower' space station configuration, shown with the Japanese Experiment Module attached. This model and several others were examined before deciding on the Space Station Freedom structure that was later abandoned in favor of the International Space Station. Date: June 19, 1985."

There were nine articulated attachments for external payloads dedicated to Earth and space observation. The initial Station would have had a crew of six working on 12-hour shifts, and feature two US-developed laboratory modules plus two habitation modules.

A maximum of 18 hours/week of EVA 'spacewalks' would be permitted per astronaut. International modules had not yet been incorporated in the design. The 'Power Tower' assembly schedule would have required 12 Shuttle flights over a three-year period, starting in April 1992. The Space Station would support research in a man-tended capability from April 1993 onwards. But the schedule was already starting to slip as the Office of Management and Budget reduced the Fiscal 1985 budget from $235 million to $150 million. The slight reduction increased the total cost to $8.1 billion at 1984 rates ($11.4 billion in current-year dollars).

Some observers were critical of the contractors' lack of independent involvement in the design process. They felt Station contractors did nothing but ape NASA's configurations in order to win the contract. In May 1987, former Space Station engineer Oliver Harwood testified in the Senate. 'Aerospace industry resources and capabilities were being squandered by 'rubber stamping' NASA designs instead of seeking independent and competitive solutions to system problems. Why were the artist's conceptions of eight major corporations so nearly identical? In a real competition seeking real answers there would be a different version for each of them.'

NASA allocated all Space Station definition work between four 'Work Packages' managed by its Johnson, Marshall, Goddard and Lewis Space Centers in July 1984. Work Package 4, led by the Lewis Research Center, would investigate Space Station power options. The two leading contenders were photovoltaic solar arrays and solar thermodynamic generators. Solar thermodynamic generators would use huge parabolic dishes to heat a fluid, which then powered electric generators. They were more efficient than traditional photovoltaic solar panels, had a longer lifetime and generated less atmospheric drag. But they also had to be pointed to within 1.5 degrees of the Sun to generate electricity, and the concept had never been tried before. NASA awarded contracts worth a combined $144 million to six contractor teams in April 1985, including $20 million to Work Package 4 contractors TRW and Lockheed. The agency still had not decided whether solar thermodynamic generators or photovoltaic arrays would be chosen. Another concept from the late 1980s would generate auxiliary power from the Earth's magnetic field by connecting a generator to a long electrically conducting tether. The other end was attached to the Space Station.

The McDonnell-Douglas 'Power Tower' Space Station crew modules were 10.7 meters long with docking ports at both ends. They would have been assembled end-to-end in a racetrack-like configuration. Some engineers felt this could have created dangerous dead-ends inside the Station if a module had to be depressurized. The contractors paid considerable attention to habitability issues since each crew would live and work on the Space Station for 90 days before returning to Earth. Rockwell's crew module proposal put all the equipment inside storage racks in the middle of the module rather than on the walls.

Article by Marcus Lindroos"

-Information from astronautix.com: link

NASA ID: 85-H-273

source, source, source

Mike Acs's Collection: link

NASA ID: C-1984-5784

SDASM Archives: 54059800

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[BANKSY]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 27, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

OCT 28, 2023

An article this morning jumped out at me. Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post noted that the U.S. economy “looks remarkably good.” A recent stunning jobs report, showing that the economy continues to add jobs at record rates—more than 13.9 million since President Joe Biden took office—along with yesterday’s stunning report that U.S. economic growth grew at an annual pace of 4.9% in the third quarter of this year, puts the U.S. economy at the forefront of most of the world. And inflation is back in the range that the Federal Reserve prefers—it’s at 2.4%, close to the Fed’s target of 2%.

The U.S. is outperforming forecasts made even before the pandemic began for where the economy would be now, even as other countries are worse off. 

And yet, Rampell notes, Americans are about as negative about the economy today as they were during the Great Recession after 2008, when mortgage foreclosures were forcing people out of their homes and unemployment rested at about 9%, more than twice what it is today. In contrast, consumers give high marks to the Trump years, when average growth before the pandemic was 2.5% and the U.S. added only about 6.4 million jobs.

There is a crucial divorce here between image and reality. Americans think our economy, currently the strongest in the world, is in poor shape. They mistakenly believe it was better under Trump.

That profound and measurable disjunction ought to make us sit up and take notice, especially as the Biden administration continues to try to make the economy responsive to ordinary Americans and the country continues to pay little attention. Today, for example, the White House announced an effort to turn the dual problems of empty office buildings and a shortage of affordable housing into a win-win. It announced a series of actions to convert vacant commercial properties to residential buildings. Their efforts are designed to create affordable, energy-efficient housing near public transportation and jobs.  

The importance of identifying the contrast between image and reality in today’s politics showed recently as the meticulous work of Nashville investigative reporter Phil Williams of Tennessee’s NewsChannel 5 appears to have had an important effect on the mayoral election in Franklin, Tennessee. 

While far-right Christian nationalist mayoral candidate Alderman Gabrielle Hanson promised she was “committed to restoring and upholding the wholesome values that have long been the foundation of our city’s identity,” Williams exposed to voters Hanson’s shady history. He showed that Hanson had lied about having multiracial supporters and her ties to white supremacists, highlighted her bizarre behavior, and noted her embrace of Christian nationalism. 

On Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly rejected Hanson and other far-right candidates. Hanson won just 20.6% of the vote to 79.4% for the incumbent mayor. Then, after losing, Hanson apparently had her husband drop off her computer and ID badge at City Hall, abandoning her term as alderman before its November 14th end. 

Such deep investigation stands out in an increasingly turbulent sea of disinformation. Shayan Sardarizadeh of the BBC explained to Hanaa’ Tameez of Neiman Journalism Lab that social media posters on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, or Twitter can make significant sums of money from “engagement farming.” Posting outrageous material that engages viewers pumps up a user’s brand, making them able to command high prices from marketers.  

Sardarizadeh notes that the Israel-Hamas war is a particularly attractive situation for engagement farmers, and rumors and fake videos are flying. 

But there are plenty of opportunities for disinformation at home, too, for political purposes. In Ohio, the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate is using its official government website to push what Associate Press legal and medical experts say is “false or misleading” information against the proposed constitutional amendment the state’s voters will consider in the November 7 election. Their inflammatory language warns, for example, that the measure will “legalize abortion on demand at any stage of pregnancy” and permit “the dismemberment of fully conscious children,” the rhetoric of anti-abortion activists.

Julie Carr Smyth and Christine Fernando of the Associated Press report that Republicans began their “On the Record” blog on the state Senate website after Ohio voters rejected their attempts to make it much harder to pass constitutional amendments. The Republicans bill the blog as an “online newsroom” where voters can find “the views the news excludes.” Republican Senate president Matt Huffman denied that the blog was a news service, but it sits under the “News” tab on the Senate’s website. 

“My [Republican] colleagues say that this is done because the mainstream media won’t print their stuff,” Democratic state senator Bill DeMora told the reporters. “But of course, the mainstream media won’t pick this up because it’s factually incorrect and basically lies.” 

But because the blog appears on an official government website, internet searches turn it up as a reliable source. Laura Manley, executive director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, told Smyth and Fernando: “It’s a really strategic way to make something appear to be neutral information and fact when that’s not the reality…. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Finally, after a two-day manhunt, law enforcement officers found Maine mass murder suspect Robert Card dead tonight from a self-inflicted gunshot. Reports suggest that Card had at least a recent history of mental illness and note that his social media accounts show a history of engagement with right-wing and Republican political content.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[suzyq31]

20 Questions Game

Thanks for the tag @nodirectionhome-ao3 and @practicecourts

How many works do you have on AO3? Currently at 17

2. What's your total A03 words count? 696,804

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now just Harry Potter

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Maybe Tomorrow: Post War. Harry and Hermione are renovating Potter Manor over Christmas then wake up into a different life. (almost finished!)

Iris: My first story, and the bane of my existence. Hermione flees after the war, five years later she's dragged back in by a dangerous situations. Follows my series Seasons. Hidden child trope, angst fest, long as hell and on hiatus. H/Hr

It Had To Be You: Post war, completed, steamy romcom with some loose inspiration from the film When Harry Met Sally. Co-written with @bettertoflee

Found: A spin off of Iris, and another alternate ending to Seasons. Never thought I would write an OC protagonist, but here we are!

My next highest kudos is another Harmony, but that's boring so going with my highest rated Jily fic which is Plans. It's also more Sirius & Lily focused, takes place right after Harry's born.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try my best! Sometimes I can forget if I'm distracted/dealing with real life stuff. But I am SO grateful for people who take the time to let me know they've read my work.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angtiest ending?

For now probably Spring or Winter in my Seasons Series.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Well seeing as how I struggle to finish anything...I guess the ones that are complete which is It Had To Be You and Home.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes, so far only in Harmony. It's a huge reason I don't participate in the fandom much and why I moderate comments. Most of it has been concentrated on my stories Iris and Found, but I've also received rude comments on other works including It Had To Be You (which got some very incel type comments, and is the main reason I only allow registered users and block instantly).

9. Do you write smut. If so what kind?

Yes, mostly reluctantly as I still get uncomfortable writing it, but some stories feel incomplete without some. Love reading it though! Not sure what kind means? Like M or E? I would say my smut is relatively tame. I've only written one E rated fic, which was co-written haha.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Nope, can't imagine I ever would.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No idea! People have asked me, but haven't seen them.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Yes! Working on my second collaboration with @bettertoflee. And my story Iris gets so much support from my beta Green_Eyes that it feels like she may as well be a co-writer!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? I've shipped both my fave HP ships since around 2001 when I was a child and they haven't changed even with the dreaded epilogue for Harry and Hermione (I take Unlike a Sister as canon and breathe easier for it), or you know canon for James and Lily (which is why AU is so fun!)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ideally I'd like to finish all of them. If I didn't have such a strong editor/beta reader for Iris it would likely stay unfinished. I REALLY struggle with endings at the best of times and that story has a variety of factors that make it difficult for me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm very hard on myself, so its hard to think of positives. I do think I'm creative, and as someone with ADHD I often think outside the box. I think I have a good ear for dialogue. I've also received compliments on my descriptions/scene writing, as well as for conveying emotions. The thing I do love best about writing is seeing the growth year by year, story by story.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plotting, getting stuck after the midway point. ADHD brain always wanting to jump to something new. Spelling/Grammar from years of French Immersion. Wordy, though REALLY have worked on this and I do so much slashing and cutting in my editing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

No strong opinion unless it's constant.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Probably Harry Potter as a child. Although me and a friend wrote a That 70s Show script and posted it on fanfic.net back in middle school haha.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

This is a hard one. I am really proud of Maybe Tomorrow, I put a lot of my heart into it and it's actually complete except for some edits and additional scenes I'm contemplating.

I also really enjoyed writing Plans. And I'm proud of this short micro where I managed to stay under 1000 words!

I think this has made the rounds already! At least for Jily. But will tag;

@bettertoflee @myst867 @glitterwitch1 @riverwriter @runawayminds @annonymouslyblonde

[priyanmjkh]

digital marketing course

why need of digital marketing

In an increasingly digital world, traditional marketing strategies are no longer sufficient to reach consumers effectively. The shift towards online platforms has made digital marketing an essential component for businesses of all sizes. Here’s why digital marketing is crucial today.

1. Widespread Internet Usage

With millions of people connected to the internet, businesses can engage with a vast audience. According to recent statistics, over half of the global population uses social media, making it a prime channel for marketing efforts.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

Digital marketing often proves more affordable than traditional marketing methods. Campaigns can be tailored to fit any budget, allowing small businesses to compete with larger companies. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, for instance, enables businesses to only pay when users engage with their ads.

3. Targeted Marketing

One of the most significant advantages of digital marketing is the ability to target specific demographics. Businesses can analyze user data to create personalized campaigns that resonate with their intended audience, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

4. Measurable Results

Digital marketing offers robust analytics tools that allow businesses to track the performance of their campaigns in real time. Metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement levels provide valuable insights, enabling companies to adjust their strategies for optimal results.

5. Enhanced Customer Engagement

Social media platforms provide an opportunity for businesses to interact directly with their customers. This engagement fosters brand loyalty and allows companies to address customer concerns promptly, enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

6. Staying Competitive

In today's fast-paced market, businesses that do not adopt digital marketing strategies risk falling behind. Competitors who leverage online marketing can capture market share and establish a stronger online presence.

7. Adaptability to Trends

Digital marketing is highly adaptable. Businesses can quickly modify their strategies to align with current trends and consumer behaviors. This flexibility is crucial in a landscape where preferences can shift rapidly.

Conclusion

The need for digital marketing is undeniable. As consumer behavior continues to evolve, businesses must embrace digital strategies to stay relevant and competitive. Investing in digital marketing not only enhances visibility but also builds lasting relationships with customers, ultimately driving growth and success.

[leroypatrickblog]

How Can Navy Federal Help You Achieve Your Financial Goals?

Discover How Navy Federal Supports Your Financial Success

Navy Federal Credit Union is dedicated to helping you meet your financial goals. Whether you want to save for a new home, build your credit, or plan for retirement, Navy Federal offers a range of services designed to support you. Their financial tools are user-friendly and effective. For example, their savings accounts come with competitive interest rates. This means your money grows faster. You can also use their budgeting tools to keep track of spending. Many members find these tools help them stay on top of their finances.

Another way Navy Federal helps is through personalized advice. When you join, you get access to financial advisors who understand your needs. They offer guidance on various financial products. For instance, if you’re thinking about buying a house, Navy Federal’s mortgage options might be just what you need. They offer competitive rates and flexible terms. This can make buying a home more affordable. Also, their advisors can help you choose the right investment accounts. They provide strategies that suit your goals and risk tolerance. Navy Federal also supports your financial growth with credit-building resources. They offer credit cards with rewards and low interest rates. Using these cards responsibly can boost your credit score. Plus, they provide educational resources to help you understand credit better. For example, their workshops and online tools can teach you about managing debt and improving your credit score. Many members have shared positive experiences. They appreciate how Navy Federal’s services align with their financial goals and help them succeed. In summary, Navy Federal Credit Union offers a variety of resources to help you reach your financial goals. From savings accounts and investment options to personalized advice and credit-building tools, they provide support every step of the way. By leveraging these resources, you can achieve your financial dreams with greater ease.

Discover bdirec: Your Comprehensive Source for USA Contact Information

For in-depth access to extensive USA contact details, explore the bdirec directory. Offering a wide array of listings, this resource ensures you can find specific contacts across various industries and regions within the United States. Whether you're searching for business contacts, customer service numbers, or professional connections, bdirec is a dependable platform to streamline your search. Utilize its userfriendly interface and vast database to access the most relevant and current contact information tailored to your needs. Efficiently uncover detailed American business contact information with the bdirec directory today.

[realcleverscience]

AI & Data Centers vs Water + Energy

We all know that AI has issues, including energy and water consumption. But these fields are still young and lots of research is looking into making them more efficient. Remember, most technologies tend to suck when they first come out.

Deploying high-performance, energy-efficient AI

"You give up that kind of amazing general purpose use like when you're using ChatGPT-4 and you can ask it everything from 17th century Italian poetry to quantum mechanics, if you narrow your range, these smaller models can give you equivalent or better kind of capability, but at a tiny fraction of the energy consumption," says Ball."...

"I think liquid cooling is probably one of the most important low hanging fruit opportunities... So if you move a data center to a fully liquid cooled solution, this is an opportunity of around 30% of energy consumption, which is sort of a wow number.... There's more upfront costs, but actually it saves money in the long run... One of the other benefits of liquid cooling is we get out of the business of evaporating water for cooling...

The other opportunity you mentioned was density and bringing higher and higher density of computing has been the trend for decades. That is effectively what Moore's Law has been pushing us forward... [i.e. chips rate of improvement is faster than their energy need growths. This means each year chips are capable of doing more calculations with less energy. - RCS] ... So the energy savings there is substantial, not just because those chips are very, very efficient, but because the amount of networking equipment and ancillary things around those systems is a lot less because you're using those resources more efficiently with those very high dense components"

New tools are available to help reduce the energy that AI models devour

"The trade-off for capping power is increasing task time — GPUs will take about 3 percent longer to complete a task, an increase Gadepally says is "barely noticeable" considering that models are often trained over days or even months... Side benefits have arisen, too. Since putting power constraints in place, the GPUs on LLSC supercomputers have been running about 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler and at a more consistent temperature, reducing stress on the cooling system. Running the hardware cooler can potentially also increase reliability and service lifetime. They can now consider delaying the purchase of new hardware — reducing the center's "embodied carbon," or the emissions created through the manufacturing of equipment — until the efficiencies gained by using new hardware offset this aspect of the carbon footprint. They're also finding ways to cut down on cooling needs by strategically scheduling jobs to run at night and during the winter months."

AI just got 100-fold more energy efficient

Northwestern University engineers have developed a new nanoelectronic device that can perform accurate machine-learning classification tasks in the most energy-efficient manner yet. Using 100-fold less energy than current technologies...

“Today, most sensors collect data and then send it to the cloud, where the analysis occurs on energy-hungry servers before the results are finally sent back to the user,” said Northwestern’s Mark C. Hersam, the study’s senior author. “This approach is incredibly expensive, consumes significant energy and adds a time delay...

For current silicon-based technologies to categorize data from large sets like ECGs, it takes more than 100 transistors — each requiring its own energy to run. But Northwestern’s nanoelectronic device can perform the same machine-learning classification with just two devices. By reducing the number of devices, the researchers drastically reduced power consumption and developed a much smaller device that can be integrated into a standard wearable gadget."

Researchers develop state-of-the-art device to make artificial intelligence more energy efficient

""This work is the first experimental demonstration of CRAM, where the data can be processed entirely within the memory array without the need to leave the grid where a computer stores information,"...

According to the new paper's authors, a CRAM-based machine learning inference accelerator is estimated to achieve an improvement on the order of 1,000. Another example showed an energy savings of 2,500 and 1,700 times compared to traditional methods"

[aiinsightsandoverview]

Exploring Omodore: The AI Assistant Transforming Business Operations

In today's fast-paced business environment, efficiency and innovation are crucial for staying ahead of the competition. Enter Omodore, an AI-powered assistant that's redefining how businesses manage their operations, interact with customers, and drive growth. Let's dive into what makes Omodore a standout tool in the world of AI and automation.

Revolutionizing Customer Service

One of Omodore's most impressive features is its ability to enhance customer service. By using advanced AI technology, Omodore can instantly respond to customer inquiries, providing detailed and accurate answers. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also frees up human agents to handle more complex tasks. The AI assistant's perfect recall ensures that every interaction is informed by past conversations, making customer service more personalized and effective.

Streamlining Sales Processes

Omodore shines in streamlining sales processes. Setting up an AI agent is a breeze, and within minutes, it can start handling live calls. The AI is equipped to manage thousands of FAQs, expertly navigate objections, and provide critical information about products and services. This automation reduces the workload on sales teams, allowing them to focus on closing deals and building relationships with clients.

Creating a Knowledge Base

A powerful feature of Omodore is its ability to create and utilize a comprehensive knowledge base. This repository of information gives the AI context about the company, enabling it to provide more accurate and relevant answers. As a result, businesses spend less time training their AI agents and more time benefiting from their capabilities. The knowledge base is constantly updated, ensuring that the AI remains current and effective.

Gaining Real-Time Insights

Omodore doesn't just assist with customer interactions and sales; it also provides valuable insights and analytics. By tracking customer interactions, the AI identifies trends and patterns that can inform business strategies. This data-driven approach allows companies to refine their operations, improve their services, and make more informed decisions.

Ensuring User-Friendly and Secure Operations

Ease of use is a hallmark of Omodore. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible even for those who aren't tech-savvy. Additionally, Omodore prioritizes security, employing robust measures to protect user data. This focus on security ensures that businesses can confidently use the AI assistant without concerns about privacy or data breaches.

Driving Revenue Growth

Ultimately, Omodore's advanced AI capabilities translate into tangible business benefits. By automating routine tasks and improving customer service, businesses can increase their efficiency and productivity. This leads to higher conversion rates, more closed deals, and, ultimately, increased revenue. Omodore empowers businesses to achieve their growth objectives by leveraging the power of AI.

Conclusion

Omodore is more than just an AI assistant; it's a comprehensive tool that enhances various aspects of business operations. From customer service and sales to insights and security, Omodore provides a suite of features that drive efficiency and growth. For businesses looking to stay competitive and innovate, Omodore is an invaluable asset.

To learn more about how Omodore can transform your business, visit their website at omodore.com.

[priyankashares]

Breaking Boundaries: How Metaverse Development Companies are Shaping the Future

In today’s fast-paced digital world, the idea of the Metaverse has transformed from a mere fiction into a real and engaging space that is set to revolutionize how we interact with technology. Leading the charge are the metaverse development companies, who are shaping the future. They are pushing limits, questioning norms, and building the groundwork for a future where the lines between the real and virtual worlds fade away.

The metaverse has become a hot topic, grabbing the attention of tech experts, investors, and fans. It’s a virtual reality world where people can interact with 3D environments and each other, opening up endless opportunities and exciting possibilities.

“In January 2023, Google saw about 1.9 million searches worldwide for the word ‘metaverse’.”

With the rising popularity of the metaverse, there’s a growing demand for companies specializing in metaverse development to build and manage these virtual worlds.

Creating immersive and lifelike environments is crucial in metaverse development. This involves a strong grasp of technical and creative elements to create virtual worlds that feel real. A Metaverse development company needs a skilled team capable of everything from 3D modeling and animation to programming and interface design, ensuring captivating user experiences.

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of metaverse development and the key role played by Metaverse Development Companies in shaping this advanced digital world.

What Is Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), the internet, and other emerging technologies. It’s essentially a digital universe where users can interact with each other and digital objects in real-time, often through avatars.

The concept originated from science fiction but is now becoming a reality with the advancement of technology. It’s envisioned as a persistent, immersive, and interconnected virtual world with limitless possibilities for socializing, gaming, business, education, and much more.

Important Statistics Showing the Metaverse’s Success:

By 2027, the global metaverse market is projected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 47.2%, from $61.8 billion to an impressive $426.9 billion.

In the metaverse, real estate worth over $500 million has already been sold.

Nearly 400 million users actively engage with the metaverse every month.

The metaverse is currently under active development by over 500 companies.

Research predicts that by 2026, at least 25% of people will spend at least one hour daily in the metaverse, whether for work, shopping, education, or entertainment.

Why are new entrepreneurs investing in metaverse development companies?

Let’s explore how metaverse developers can assist businesses in various ways:

Creating a unique virtual world

Metaverse development companies help businesses in creating a unique and captivating virtual environment. They contribute to designing its appearance, integrating interactive features, and programming functionalities to enhance user immersion and enjoyment, ultimately setting them apart from competitors.

Building a social platform

Metaverse development companies can assist entrepreneurs in constructing a social platform within their virtual world. This platform enables users to interact and form communities, fostering a sense of belonging and community spirit. Such initiatives often result in increased user engagement and loyalty.

Generating revenue from the virtual world

Metaverse experts can aid entrepreneurs in monetizing their virtual world using strategies like in-world advertisements, virtual currencies, and other monetization methods. This approach can generate income for the entrepreneur and establish a sustainable business model for their virtual world.

Technical Support

Metaverse experts can assist entrepreneurs with technical support for maintaining, updating, and troubleshooting their virtual world. This support allows entrepreneurs to focus on community building and monetization efforts without worrying about technical issues.

Creating Networking Opportunities

Metaverse developers can facilitate networking for entrepreneurs by connecting them with other professionals in their industry or potential investors. This networking can significantly contribute to the growth of their business.

Fostering Innovation

Metaverse developers aid entrepreneurs in staying at the forefront of technology and innovation. This support enables entrepreneurs to remain competitive and attract new users.

Therefore, a metaverse development company can assist entrepreneurs in establishing and sustaining a thriving virtual world that appeals to users and generates revenue. They offer comprehensive services covering technical and creative aspects, enabling entrepreneurs to concentrate on expanding their businesses and communities.

How Metaverse Development Companies are Shaping the Future?

Metaverse development companies are driving a significant shift across industries, leveraging cutting-edge technology to redefine how we experience and interact with the world. Let’s explore how these companies are shaping tomorrow’s world today.

Real Estate

Virtual property tours have become a game-changer in the real estate industry, with a staggering 49% increase in sales attributed to these immersive experiences. These tours allow potential buyers to explore properties remotely, providing a comprehensive view of the space without the need for physical visits. Enhanced visualization tools further augment this experience, enabling buyers to customize virtual spaces and visualize potential renovations or designs. As a result, decision-making processes are streamlined, leading to quicker transactions and a 30% reduction in time-to-sale.

Healthcare

Metaverse development companies are making significant strides in healthcare by leveraging virtual reality (VR) technology. VR therapy sessions, for instance, have shown remarkable results, with a 65% improvement in patient outcomes compared to traditional therapy methods. Telemedicine platforms powered by the Metaverse enable healthcare providers to conduct virtual consultations, reaching and serving remote patients effectively. Furthermore, training simulations using VR technology are enhancing medical education and skills development among healthcare professionals.

Education

The education sector is witnessing a transformational shift with the integration of Metaverse technology. Immersive learning experiences within virtual environments have led to a remarkable 78% rise in student engagement. Virtual classrooms break down geographical barriers, providing students worldwide with access to quality education and expert instructors. Interactive simulations offer hands-on learning opportunities, facilitating better understanding and retention of complex concepts across various subjects.

Gaming

Metaverse development companies are at the forefront of revolutionizing the gaming industry. Virtual worlds created by these companies offer unparalleled levels of immersion and social interaction for gamers. In-game economies driven by virtual currencies are fostering a new wave of virtual commerce and entrepreneurship. The rise of eSports tournaments within the Metaverse has attracted millions of viewers and lucrative sponsorships, cementing gaming as a major entertainment and economic force in the digital realm.

Fashion

Fashion is embracing the Metaverse with innovative experiences such as virtual try-on sessions. These experiences not only reduce returns but also enhance customer satisfaction by allowing individuals to visualize how clothing and accessories look on them before making a purchase. Digital fashion shows hosted in virtual environments are expanding the reach of designers and brands globally, democratizing access to fashion events. Additionally, the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is revolutionizing ownership and authenticity within the fashion industry, creating new avenues for creators and collectors alike.

Finance

Metaverse development companies are reshaping the financial landscape through virtual banking and investment platforms. These platforms offer personalized experiences tailored to individual financial needs and goals. Blockchain technology, integral to the Metaverse, ensures secure and transparent transactions, enhancing trust and efficiency in financial services. Metaverse assets, including virtual real estate and digital collectibles, are becoming valuable investment opportunities and diversification tools for individuals and institutions alike. Each of these industries showcases how Metaverse development companies are driving innovation, improving experiences, and shaping the future of business and interaction.

Conclusion

As the metaverse evolves and captures the interest of people and businesses, Metaverse Development Companies play a vital role. They act as the creators of the virtual world, blending various technologies to craft immersive, connected, and socially engaging digital experiences. With the rising need for metaverse development, partnering with a trusted Metaverse Development Company is crucial for those aiming to lead in this transformative digital era. Embracing the metaverse now opens doors to endless possibilities in the future.

ibentos is a leading Metaverse Development Company renowned for its innovative approach and expertise in creating dynamic virtual environments. With a focus on cutting-edge technology and user-centric design, Ibentos empowers entrepreneurs to unlock the full potential of the metaverse, from building captivating virtual worlds to implementing revenue-generating strategies. For those ready to embark on their metaverse journey and harness the power of this digital frontier, partnering with Ibentos ensures access to top-notch development solutions and industry-leading expertise. Take the first step towards a vibrant metaverse presence with Ibentos today!

Source: https://ibentos.com/blogs/breaking-boundaries-how-metaverse-development-companies-are-shaping-the-future/

[ravnique]

Ideal Customer Persona: Marketing Director Mark

About Them

Name: Mark Thompson

Role: Marketing Director

Industry: SaaS (Software as a Service)

Company Size: Mid-sized (100-500 employees)

Demographics:

Age: 35-45 years old

Education: Bachelor's in Marketing or Business, often with an MBA

Location: Urban areas with a tech industry presence (e.g., San Francisco, New York, Austin)

Experience: 10+ years in marketing, 3-5 years in a leadership role

Professional Background:

Strong understanding of digital marketing, analytics, and customer acquisition strategies

Experienced in leading cross-functional teams and managing marketing budgets.

Use Case

How they use our product:

To manage and optimize digital marketing campaigns across multiple channels (e.g., social media, email, SEO)

To gain insights into customer behavior and campaign performance through advanced analytics and reporting tools

To streamline and automate repetitive marketing tasks

What they’re trying to achieve:

Increase lead generation and conversion rates

Enhance brand visibility and engagement

Improve ROI on marketing spend

Gain a competitive edge through data-driven decision-making

Previous Solution & Pain Points

Previous Solution:

A combination of multiple marketing tools (e.g., email marketing platforms, social media schedulers, web analytics tools)

Manual processes for campaign management and performance tracking

Pain Points:

Fragmented data across different tools leading to inefficiencies and inaccuracies

Time-consuming manual processes

Difficulty in measuring the true impact of marketing efforts on revenue

Challenges in personalizing marketing campaigns at scale

Benefits

Main Benefits from Using Our Product:

Integrated Platform: Unified solution that brings all marketing tools and data into one platform

Automation: Streamlined workflows for campaign management, reducing manual effort

Advanced Analytics: Comprehensive reporting and analytics that provide actionable insights

Scalability: Ability to personalize campaigns at scale, driving better engagement

Improved ROI: More efficient use of marketing budgets through data-driven optimization

Buying Trigger

What Causes Them to Seek Out Our Product:

Need to consolidate marketing tools for better efficiency

Growth in company size leading to more complex marketing needs

Desire to improve marketing performance and accountability

Feedback from the executive team demanding better metrics and ROI

Frustration with current tools' limitations and lack of integration

Buying Process

Typical Process People Go Through to Buy Our Product:

Research: Initial online research to identify potential solutions, reading reviews and case studies

Evaluation: Shortlisting a few platforms, attending demos, and comparing features and pricing

Consultation: Internal discussions with the marketing team and other stakeholders (e.g., IT, finance)

Trial: Requesting a free trial or pilot program to test the product

Decision: Final decision made by the Marketing Director, often in consultation with the executive team

Approval: Securing budget approval and negotiating contracts

Choice Factors

Things They’re Looking for in a Product Like Ours:

Ease of Use: Intuitive interface and easy onboarding process

Integration: Seamless integration with existing tools and systems

Scalability: Ability to grow with the company and handle increasing volumes of data and users

Support: Reliable customer support and resources for troubleshooting and optimization

Value: Competitive pricing and clear ROI

Innovation: Regular updates and new features that keep the platform ahead of industry trends