#breadth first search example

[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.

[21st-century-minutiae]

https://www.tumblr.com/cetitan/729222156562628609

Perspective on environmental storytelling and it’s cultural association with Bethesda games?

Human history is rife with storytelling. Up until the very late twentieth century, stories took the form of a storyteller conveying a tale to an audience, whether through the media of speech, prose, song, plays, movies, radio drama or the like. The audience was the passive recipient, with a few, minor exceptions (interactive media like tabletop/live action role playing games and avant garde art installations did exist, but they weren't prominent). However, in the early twenty-first century, a new, inherently interactive, form of media achieved prominence: video games.

While video games initially imitated the classic forms of storytelling, (narrators, character driven dialogue, set piece curation, etc...) writers and artists began exploring the possibilities inherent to the media for new forms of storytelling. For example, telling a story via difficulty for the audience and using the 'game over screen' and repeated attempts to convey matters, or building in branching storylines of interactivity to have choice be part of a narrative, or playing with time and space in manners that can't easily be conveyed by voice and text...

One particular form of storytelling emerged: Environmental Storytelling. Environmental Storytelling is a medium of conveying a story through the mechanics of exploration and intentional immersion. The audience is not a passive participant, but an active seeker of information, more like an archaeologist discovering matters after the fact. It relies on players making the intentional choice to search the game for details, and rewarding them with details of stories. Most commonly it is done via text artifacts, such as books or audio logs that have been left in locations in a game, or through item descriptions. Other times it can be done with visual presentations and other game mechanics, such as having two skeletons lying side by side each with a single 'ring' in their inventory.

Being a form of storytelling reliant on exploration and direct audience interaction, environmental storytelling is most often found in games with free roaming, such as role playing games. Bethesda games, as mentioned in the ask, are known for incorporating environmental storytelling into their worlds, as an addition to the traditional storytelling they convey in their curated quest lines. FromSoftware games are notorious for almost exclusively relying on Environmental Storytelling, which helps convey a sense of confusion and the breadth of the world. Environmental Storytelling is also very common in mystery games and horror games, as a growing part of the genre convention.

Environmental Storytelling is very broad in scope, but there are some commonalities inherent to the method. For one, it is not and cannot be curated in the same way that a traditional book or a cutscene or a movie might convey. While writers can subtly try to lead players through a story in a natural order, every detail is inherently missable, and sequence breaking is always possible. Requiring player action and interpretation also forces a level of interpretation on the player that just saying something outright does not require. This can be more confusing and mysterious, especially if players only get access to pieces bit by bit, and have to go long times between learning new pieces of key information. It also has the effect of diminishing the player's inherent nature as the center of a game's universe. In traditional storytelling, everything is provided to the audience for the benefit of the audience at the convenience of the audience. The audience is, effectively, treated as entitled to all information, with the idea that important things will always happen in view. With environmental storytelling there is instead a sense that there is a full world that goes on outside the protagonist's perspective, diminishing their importance. Environmental storytelling also tends to be very past focused, as remnants and records rather than direct plot and action.

There is some level of controversy to the practice, and not every player is a fan of the idea. By shifting the onus of storytelling onto players, there is an implication that the writers are doing less work. Are they crafting a deep, mysterious world that a player must spend active effort to decipher? Or are they simply leaving vague notes without substance around the place to avoid having to write a good story (or to avoid having to HIRE writers?). This particular accusation is often leveled against indie horror games, which have a community of theorists happy to dissect every bit of environmental storytelling into a compelling narrative whether or not such a narrative actually existed. Random notes scattered around can be seen as a lazy method of pretending to have substance behind the ambience. That said, it is generally understood that it is possible to have a compelling story told through high effort environmental storytelling. It is also generally enjoyed as a world building and setting enhancing tool when it isn't the ONLY form of storytelling. People can generally tell when effort is put into a project and can enjoy the effort behind this technique, which is fundamentally an OPTIONAL and MISSABLE detail in a game that hopefully has other substance.

Ultimately environmental storytelling is a single component in a small number of genres in a single media of storytelling. Some people like it a lot, some people find it annoying or insignificant, and some have come to expect it as a necessary staple for the genre. And perhaps a large majority of people wouldn't even know what it is, having never noticed it before. While there have been efforts to explore the limits of this storytelling outside video games with ARGs and the like, the early twenty-first century is still dominated by traditional storytelling, and there is no indication that it will ever lose its dominance.

[dustedmagazine]

Feldman / Rempis / Daisy—Sirocco (Aerophonic)

Saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Tim Daisy have been playing together since 1997. Their evolving collaboration in Triage, the Vandermark 5, Rempis Percussion Quartet and Earscratcher (among others) has been sufficiently documented by various Dusted scribes that we’ll spare you the history here; just start typing names into the search engine on the right if you feel the need for background information. Suffice to say that the Chicago-based duo have worked together enough to have developed both an intimate familiarity with each other’s potentialities, and some ways to keep things from getting stale. Sirocco, a live recording with violinist Mark Feldman, provides examples of both phenomena.

Feldman ended a decades-long sojourn in New York during the pandemic to move back to Chicago, the city of his birth. Naming a few of the strong connections he left behind — John Zorn, Sylvie Courvoisier, Michael Brecker — gives only a partial accounting of the breadth of his experience as an improviser and sideman in both creative and commercial contexts. With that sort of a cv, he did not come to this encounter as a complete unknown quantity. Additionally, he and Daisy have already made one duo recording. But he brought the qualities of being new to the duo, as well as having a strong musical personality of his own, when he began playing with them in 2022. This combination made him an ideal agent of challenge for Daisy and Rempis. 

The CD is split into two parts, both taken their third concert together, which took place in October, 2022. The location, Elastic Arts, is home turf for Rempis and Daisy, but from the first seconds, Feldman is an equal partner in setting the tone. He and Rempis twist long, microtonal ribbons of sound around each other’s lines while Daisy contributes spare, subdued accents. The drummer and saxophonist are typically quite good at winding each other up, but Feldman seems to steer them towards a more restrained, quizzical mode of interaction. They’re no less agile or engaged than in other contexts, but more light and space gets into the music. It delivers a different charge, but it’s sufficiently electrifying to bring new life and fresh ideas to a venerable partnership. 

Bill Meyer

[amothersmagik]

Merry Meet!

So, I am climbing up on my soapbox today. I see it asked all the time: "where do I start?"

And every answer seems the same: Research!

Great! But what does that mean? How and where do I research?? ... Starting out in The Craft is both easy and extremely challenging. Prior to the internet, research meant knowing or hoping to randomly meet other Practioners who could guide you. Or, if you were brave, checking a local library. At that point, starting was hard because getting access to information was hard.

Now we have the internet. And the problem exists in reverse. There is now SO much info available that it can be overwhelming at times. It certainly was for my nerodivergent brain. So I have typed up a "brief" summary of my process so that mayhap it will help others::

Research research research! There is so much out there and it can be so overwhelming. How i personally suggest you start? First, accept that you dont need fancy tools and ingredients to be a successful Witch You are enough as you are.

From a research aspect:

1. Look up the major types of spell work. (Candle, Kitchen, Jar, Offering, Sigils, Simmer Pots, Intention Spells, Oils, Sachets, Sprays, etc). This will give you an idea just how broad actual Craft and spellwork can be. Also, it will strike some examples of what to research and give you an idea what you will be most interested in. For example, I primarily love jar spells, sigils, and simmer pots.

2. Make a list of a couple types of spells or works that interest you. Like healing, self love, cord cuttings, etc. This will give you a list to work of to then build your research plan/database.

PLEASE NOTE, I PERSONALLY RECCOMEND THAT YOU DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY OF THESE SPELLS YET. I AM SUGGESTING YOU MAP THIS ALL OUT SO YOU HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE BREADTH OF THE CRAFT. It will also help you decide what kind of Crafter you will likely be. Personally, I am eclectic, and grey with very white leanings. I am not actually Wiccan, though the Wiccan aspect plays a huge role in my Craft.

Huge massive tip in looking stuff up? Using google or your fav search engine, type "metaphysical properties of____" or "magickal/magical correspondences of____" or simply "_____ Correspondences" and you can either read the articles and links or simply look through the images section. Though not everything will have extensive info available.

3. Pick a random spell. Anything. Now RESEARCH what doing that spell would entail. This will give you an idea of what kinds of things to research and where you want to put your emphasis.

For example, I wanted to do an anti anxiety spell. So I researched that. Discovered I have a flair for sigils. Then quickly realized I am an AVID Jar spell kinda gal 😅😁 So I then went searching for jar spells for  anti anxiety to see what would be required. Then realized how many different ways there are to do one. Which lead me to research crystals and herbs to find what ingredients to use for what. Which lead to me making my own comprehensive hard physical copy (alphabetical, might I add) of all the herbs and plants I could find and their many uses. Did the same with crystals. Then candles and their color meanings. Which lead to color magick research.

(..... It has now been 3 years since I went looking for that anti anxiety spell and I haven't performed it yet. I HAVE found so much peace within myself as I have settled into my Craft by learning. Because remember, witchcraft is NOT always JUST about performing spells. Anyway... back on topic)

I quickly realized how much info there was out there to learn and how to go about it.

Id also research the sabbats and all they entail.

Research deities for future knowledge. Though I suggest waiting on actual deity work until you are further down your path  but that is a personal preference.

Research cleansing types and methods.

At the end of the day, your path and your Craft is your own. Follow your intuition and instincts. Follow your heart and soul. And do as much as you can to research something before casting. Google is your friend. Also, i have a list of books. If you want it, just as a place to start, let me know :)

Once you start spell craft, I found it easiest to start with Sigils, once I got the hang of those, I moved on to simmer pots and candle magick (easiest ingredients to get ahold of for me). After getting comfortable with those, I moved on to Offering Spells. Then Jar Spells. I have more or less stopped there in my actual spell progression, as I have found I excel at and greatly enjoy Jar Spells. I have also ventured into oil rollers, sprays, sachets, etc. And I occasionally do rituals, like cord cuttings or ritual baths, but have not overly ventured in those directions. As such, I research as needed for those types of spells.

Shadow work and observing the Sabbats were also a huge learning opportunity for me.

People always say "do your shadow work" and it took me forever to realize they mean working on yourself. Facing your inner demons. Accepting your faults and working to correct those you can. Accepting yourself for who you are and learning to love yourself and be happy with who you are.

Researching the Sabbats and how the many cultures celebrate and honor them gave me another way to research and learn and then work that new knowledge into my craft. People jump over a fire during Beltane. Why? There is a good research topic for you. Yellow flowers, why are they important in the spring? Why are apples associated with fertility. What kinds of activities are engaged in for Samhain? Why?

And along the way of these activities and researching, you will find yourself learning things that can help you elsewhere. Like learning about the color green and its importance at Beltane will later help you in health and fertility spells.

I think I started actually performing spells about 1/4 of my way through all this research. Once I had a good enough basis to understand the materials I was working with and knew my energy and magic enough to feel comfortable and confident in my workings.

I still perform lots of research regularly, but have reached a comfort zone in my Craft where I don't do big things every day, or even every week, but I work my craft in in little ways, sometimes even unconsciously. I have found I am happy, comfortable, confident and at peace with my self and the life I live. And a stable and reliable Craft is a great addition to that peace, if not outright the building blocks for it in my case.

My inbox is open if anyone has questions. Wants to chat. Wants a new witchy friend. Etc. As a Polyamorous, Pansexual, Christian Druidic Mother and Wife who is 420 friendly...... I am an open book with nothing to hide and virtually no judgement left in my brain. I don't care who you are. Do no harm, take no shit and we will be a-okay :)

Merry Part and Blessed Be

[jasminehp]

Digital Retailing: Understanding and Communicating with the e-Consumer

Disadvantages and advantages of e-shopping for consumers

In present times, it can be easier for consumers to get a hold of their shopping needs, as e-shopping has been gaining popularity over the last few years. It is said that “About 2.14 billion shoppers now buy items online, which is a significant increase from just a few years ago. With the current world population of 7.9 billion, it means that 27% of all people that are alive are digital buyers' “(Rajnerowicz, 2023). With that information provided, it can be safe to say that much of the population has used e-shopping and most of the population is familiar with this action. The most important key points that a consumer is looking for when shopping is the accessibility of this product/service, convenience, and the total price of the shopping experience. It can be argued that for some consumers, e-shopping is an easier way to get essentials and or services while others say it is better to go to a store and purchase their needs in person. An example of how online shopping can be of benefit to customers was during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people were ordered to stay home and not leave the house unless there were essential workers or extreme emergencies. “The pandemic has definitely had an impact on shopping behavior, with more people turning to the internet to buy everything from food and groceries to clothing and other essentials” (Rajnerowicz, 2023). With that statement being said, it can be seen that online shopping gained more popularity during the pandemic time, as more people found that method more accessible. Although e-shopping can come with many advantages, there are also some disadvantages that consumers may run into.

Advantages 

When seeing the many products/services that e-shopping can do for the e-shopper, there are positive elements that lead up to a good experience from e-shopping, A customer chooses online shopping over in-person shopping because they can find it easy to search for many alternatives, customers can also find favorable prices, and customers can also buy their items discreetly. These are some of the most common reasons why customers find it more accessible to shop online, This can be very beneficial for businesses too as can have online customers and regular in-store customers. Through customers’ e-shopping, they can be allowed to sign up for membership programs where they can be sent emails from their preferred business and get deals for next-time products. That is another advantage for e-customers, they are given opportunities that most other customers would not be given unless they are signed up for membership programs. This can be a huge plus because many people who do online shopping know that at the end of a shopping trip, prices can add up, and having coupons or deals can really improve a customer experience. Looking at chapter 4 of the book titled “Internet Retailing and Future Perspectives” goes on to explain how “There are a number of advantages for shoppers. First in ranked order from the CapGemini survey: ‘Convenient/easy’; ‘Saves time’ and ‘Fits in with other activities’. Other commonly cited advantages, typed by responses to our own survey include ‘Breadth and depth of prod- ucts’; ‘Prices favorable’, and ‘Convenient’“ (American Psychological Assoc, 2017). With these slight advantages, e-customers are more inclined to be loyal to their preferred business due to the easier process of e-shopping.

Disadvantages

Even though there are some advantages to e-shopping, there can still be some disadvantages that attract customers away and stay loyal as in-store customers. Some reasons that e-shopping can turn customers off are because they may feel that credit card and security can be breached causing anxiety to be at an all-time high, feeling that there is a lack of personal and social interaction, some customers feel that not touching or trying the merchandise is a hard choice to make, and finally, some customers just simply do not know how to go about the website. It can be seen that with all these disadvantages, customers are not willing to do e-shopping or make it the most convenient way to shop. According to the book mentioned before, in the same chapter it goes to explain that “​​The main disadvantages for shoppers, in ranked order were: ‘Availability’; ‘Can’t be in to receive delivery’; ‘Pre- mium charged for delivery’ and ‘Can’t see or feel the merchandise’” ((American Psychological Assoc, 2017). With these details, it can be concluded that the most common disadvantages of e-shopping are trust issues that customers may feel toward these online activities. Elements such as providing credit card details, being unable to touch the merchandise, little to no human interaction, and not knowing how to go about shopping online are thoughts and feelings that are things that customers are not thrilled about when online shopping. For some people it is hard to find the right items at the perfect price and the most convenient, this can be fixed for the customer if they get constant help and are shown that some level of trust can go a long way. If there is someone that is new to online shopping, it can be helpful to get a run through what to expect and how to get to the final outcome. 

Outlook for e-shoppers

“E-commerce, in its current form, is not intended to completely replace in-store shopping. Some retailers are even moving towards a model where you can try things in-store and then get the same product shipped to you” (Rajnerowicz, 2023). With that text provided, it lets people know that the purpose of e-commerce is not to replace in-store shopping, but instead to make it more convenient for customers and businesses all over. When customers go in-store shopping, there is the possibility that a specific item can not be found but the store employees can let the customer know that the item they are looking for can be provided for them online. E-shopping is something that will only become more popular as the years go on, it is important that customers should know how to use websites to buy products/services should anything happen in their day-to-day routine. As far as how businesses can market to their customers, this e-shopping can only make it easier for them to market, as they can easily send promotion emails, appear in their news feed, and by showing off news products/services. By customers doing online shopping, businesses can also benefit from this as they can have much more demand for their products, and they will be able to have both in-store and online inventory making more available for their customers. Should their demand exceed more than their supply, the business can have the option of solely providing in-store items or online items, regardless there will always be an option for the customer. 

Resources

APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Assoc.)

Eleonora Pantano, Bang Nguyen, Charles Dennis, & Sabine Gerlach. (2017). Internet Retailing and Future Perspectives: Vol. Second edition. Routledge.

Rajnerowicz, Kazimierz. “Online Shopping Statistics: Ecommerce Trends for 2023.” Tidio, 4 Jan. 2023, https://www.tidio.com/blog/online-shopping-statistics/?a_bucket=search&a_type=new&a_source=google.com&a_v=2&a_g_campaignid=17060809626&a_g_keyword&a_g_adgroupid&a_g_creative.

[septembersghost]

this might be a big ask so it's okay if you can't answer it, but I was wondering if you could help me narrow down some old music to listen to, esp Frank Sinatra and Elvis since I think you have knowledge/reference with both of them? I'm interested in exploring things but there's A LOT and idk where to begin!

i love that you asked this, it's well-established that nothing in the world makes me happier than recommending/sharing music that is special to me, of any kind and from any time! it definitely is a LOT of content to take in, and hard to sort where to look because there's not only so much work across their catalogs, there are also all the compilation albums. if you have apple music, a simpler way to start is the essentials playlists, they don't include everything that i would myself, but they're good overviews! (ep, fs). and i'll use spotify links on these for you in case you have that instead <3

there are such a vast amount of individual songs that it's difficult to choose exactly where to point you!

with frank, first of all, nice 'n' easy is one of my favorite albums of all-time. like it's at the top of my list with red and rumours for Albums Needed to Understand Me. i think the best overview of his earlier years (when he was signed to capitol records, before he formed his own label, reprise), is this one. songs for swingin' lovers, in the wee small hours, and come fly with me are also fabulous. ring-a-ding-ding is so much fun. for an overview of his later career and the reprise years, nothing but the best has some great songs!

with elvis, i am actually doing whole album explorations myself! i've basically just always had a bunch of hits in my collection rather than full records. and my fave songs feel so obvious (can't help falling in love, love me tender, suspicious minds, fever, always on my mind, a little less conversation, i'm coming home, there's always me, it's now or never, that's all right, are you lonesome tonight, baby let's play house, surrender, burning love, that's all right...). the album if i can dream that they remastered/recorded with the royal philharmonic is absolutely gorgeous. this one is a collection of #1's, there's the recording of the '68 comeback special, something for everybody and from elvis in memphis are great.

i'd also highly recommend looking into ella fitzgerald if you like frank's music, because she's wonderful too. the industry was structured differently then - i used to have a wider breadth of knowledge that i could tell you about all of this, it's faded out of my head over the years, but you'll find many of the same songs recorded by different artists because songwriting and vocalists weren't quite as personally interconnected as they are now, and popular music was very much comprised of the songbook standards, so artists would essentially license songs from a given writer and put their own spin on them, rather than all releasing their own individual things. (this is notable, for example, with elvis and hound dog, which often is erroneously criticized. big mama thornton did record her rendition first, but the song was created by and belonged to two jewish songwriters, jerry leiber and mike stoller. it had already been covered multiple times (including by a white vocal group, which was how he encountered it initially) when elvis heard it, liked it, and chose to adapt/record it. (i searched around for info for you and there's more informed elaboration on that here!) a rich legacy of american music from the earlier crooners and jazz artists lies with jewish composers, both on radio and on broadway (and at the time, those often overlapped), so you'll find many of the singers recorded gershwin, irving berlin, lorenz hart, rodgers and hammerstein, sammy cahn, frank loesser, etc. and then there were other prominent writers like the incomparable cole porter (who has been covered sensationally by lady gaga and tony bennett!), johnny mercer, etc. then elvis was very inspired by and had immense respect for black artists/writers, r&b and gospel, so you get an infusion of all of those backgrounds and influences. (frank and elvis were both very openly supportive of artists of color around them and tried to help open doors, as marilyn famously did for ella as well. it was such a complex time, and i think it's important to keep those aspects in mind and remember the many voices and legacies that were playing their parts!) both of those men (and bing crosby, who helped pioneer the single, among other things), and their many contemporaries, transformed music as a whole, and that still resonates powerfully to this day, even in places where we might not realize it.

i hope this helps a little! 💗 the best thing you can do, honestly, is just dive in and explore, you're guaranteed to find gems and specific songs you love, and there's so much to spend time with and to enjoy.

[drwhotht]

Quarter Zip

Quarter Zip The law of large numbers makes it somewhat inevitable, we guess.  Given the huge breadth of Doctor Who stretching into a seventh decade, there are bound to be stories which are neither loved or hated but even worse, largely forgotten.  And given the additional constraint of time, even apathy would be something to aspire to at times. The Space Museum is a prime example of this.  The episodes at least exist–something which can’t always be said from the Hartnell era–but unfortunately that also means there’s no mystery around what the story was (The Massacre or any number Troughton stories are an example of this) or even could be.  In fact here’s where a thought experiment might be illustrative. For those with long memories and remember how keen the search for lost/wiped episodes was back in the late 80s into the 90s know that for the longest time, only episode 1 of The Web of Fear existed, and my oh my how it promised so much!  Eventually, almost all of the story would eventually be recovered–and it did not disappoint–but the point remains. On the DVD extra for The Space Museum Robert Shearman succinctly summed up the problems for this story.  In short (and paraphrasing) he said there were only three, and that they were episodes 2, 3, and 4.  He was absolutely right.  The first episode, especially for a Hartnell, is suitably strange with dollops of backwards time and intangibility of objects, including the TARDIS, all of which leads to the cliffhanger of the quartet of travelers seeing themselves encapsulated for display.  It’s a neat image, and the kind of surrealism all-too-rarely seen in the program regardless of era.  After that though… The remaining three episodes feature drab officialdom, rebels without a clue (hands on hips for this one), and mandatory companion separation syndrome.  Vicki gets the best of these, although to see Hartnell impishly fencing with Lead Morok Lobos is rather fun.  Hartnell even takes episode 3 off, and that’s okay.  He didn’t miss much.  If The Space Museum had had the decency to be a one episode teaser, what would you bet that it would be better thought of today? The new HD-elicious caps for The Space Museum were actually completed just before Series 14 began back in May.  But if you haven’t seen them yet, they’ll be new to you. Tags and categories: Tour Updates, HD Re-classic-ation, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, The Space Museum, The Web of Fear, The Massacre via WordPress https://ift.tt/kRYiPSU July 21, 2024 at 11:30AM

[jcmarchi]

Latest Modern Advances in Prompt Engineering: A Comprehensive Guide

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/latest-modern-advances-in-prompt-engineering-a-comprehensive-guide/

Latest Modern Advances in Prompt Engineering: A Comprehensive Guide

Prompt engineering, the art and science of crafting prompts that elicit desired responses from LLMs, has become a crucial area of research and development.

From enhancing reasoning capabilities to enabling seamless integration with external tools and programs, the latest advances in prompt engineering are unlocking new frontiers in artificial intelligence. In this comprehensive technical blog, we’ll delve into the latest cutting-edge techniques and strategies that are shaping the future of prompt engineering.

Prompt Engineering

Advanced Prompting Strategies for Complex Problem-Solving

While CoT prompting has proven effective for many reasoning tasks, researchers have explored more advanced prompting strategies to tackle even more complex problems. One such approach is Least-to-Most Prompting, which breaks down a complex problem into smaller, more manageable sub-problems that are solved independently and then combined to reach the final solution.

Another innovative technique is the Tree of Thoughts (ToT) prompting, which allows the LLM to generate multiple lines of reasoning or “thoughts” in parallel, evaluate its own progress towards the solution, and backtrack or explore alternative paths as needed. This approach leverages search algorithms like breadth-first or depth-first search, enabling the LLM to engage in lookahead and backtracking during the problem-solving process.

Integrating LLMs with External Tools and Programs

While LLMs are incredibly powerful, they have inherent limitations, such as an inability to access up-to-date information or perform precise mathematical reasoning. To address these drawbacks, researchers have developed techniques that enable LLMs to seamlessly integrate with external tools and programs.

One notable example is Toolformer, which teaches LLMs to identify scenarios that require the use of external tools, specify which tool to use, provide relevant input, and incorporate the tool’s output into the final response. This approach involves constructing a synthetic training dataset that demonstrates the proper use of various text-to-text APIs.

Another innovative framework, Chameleon, takes a “plug-and-play” approach, allowing a central LLM-based controller to generate natural language programs that compose and execute a wide range of tools, including LLMs, vision models, web search engines, and Python functions. This modular approach enables Chameleon to tackle complex, multimodal reasoning tasks by leveraging the strengths of different tools and models.

Fundamental Prompting Strategies

Zero-Shot Prompting

Zero-shot prompting involves describing the task in the prompt and asking the model to solve it without any examples. For instance, to translate “cheese” to French, a zero-shot prompt might be:

Translate the following English word to French: cheese.

This approach is straightforward but can be limited by the ambiguity of task descriptions.

Few-Shot Prompting

Few-shot prompting improves upon zero-shot by including several examples of the task. For example:

Translate the following English words to French: 1. apple => pomme 2. house => maison 3. cheese => fromage

This method reduces ambiguity and provides a clearer guide for the model, leveraging the in-context learning abilities of LLMs.

Instruction Prompting

Instruction prompting explicitly describes the desired output, which is particularly effective with models trained to follow instructions. For example:

Translate the word "cheese" to French. The correct translation is "fromage."

Models like GPT-4 have been specifically fine-tuned to follow such instructions accurately.

Enhancing Reasoning Capabilities with Chain-of-Thought Prompting

One of the most significant breakthroughs in prompt engineering has been the development of Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting. This technique aims to elicit and improve the reasoning capabilities of LLMs by encouraging them to generate a step-by-step thought process or rationale before providing the final answer.

Left: Traditional methods of prompting LLMs rely on generic inputs (0-shot CoT) or necessitate labeled examples (few-shot CoT). Right: The novel approach prompts LLMs to self-create relevant examples prior to problem-solving, removing the need for labeling while customizing examples to each unique problem

CoT prompting works by presenting the LLM with examples that include not only the input and output but also the intermediate reasoning steps or “chain of thought” that leads to the solution. By learning from these exemplars, the LLM can then generate its own chain of thought when presented with new problems, improving its ability to tackle complex reasoning tasks.

Example:

Input: Natalie has 3 apples, and she wants to share them equally with her 2 friends. How many apples will each person get? Chain of Thought: Okay, let’s break this down step-by-step:

Natalie has 3 apples

She wants to share them equally with 2 friends

So there are 3 people in total (Natalie and her 2 friends)

To share the apples equally, we divide the total number of apples (3) by the number of people (3)

3 divided by 3 is 1

Therefore, each person will get 1 apple. Output: Each person will get 1 apple.

By explicitly generating the reasoning process, LLMs like GPT-3 and Codex have demonstrated significant improvements in arithmetic, commonsense, and symbolic reasoning tasks.

Self-Consistency

Self-consistency improves the reliability of CoT prompting by generating multiple chains of thought and taking a majority vote on the final answer. This method mitigates the impact of any single incorrect reasoning path.

Least-to-Most Prompting

Least-to-most prompting breaks down complex problems into simpler sub-problems, solving each one sequentially and using the context of previous solutions to inform subsequent steps. This approach is beneficial for multi-step reasoning tasks.

Recent Advances in Prompt Engineering

Prompt engineering is evolving rapidly, and several innovative techniques have emerged to improve the performance of large language models (LLMs). Let’s explore some of these cutting-edge methods in detail:

Auto-CoT (Automatic Chain-of-Thought Prompting)

What It Is: Auto-CoT is a method that automates the generation of reasoning chains for LLMs, eliminating the need for manually crafted examples. This technique uses zero-shot Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting, where the model is guided to think step-by-step to generate its reasoning chains.

How It Works:

Zero-Shot CoT Prompting: The model is given a simple prompt like “Let’s think step by step” to encourage detailed reasoning.

Diversity in Demonstrations: Auto-CoT selects diverse questions and generates reasoning chains for these questions, ensuring a variety of problem types and reasoning patterns.

Advantages:

Automation: Reduces the manual effort required to create reasoning demonstrations.

Performance: On various benchmark reasoning tasks, Auto-CoT has matched or exceeded the performance of manual CoT prompting.

Complexity-Based Prompting

What It Is: This technique selects examples with the highest complexity (i.e., the most reasoning steps) to include in the prompt. It aims to improve the model’s performance on tasks requiring multiple steps of reasoning.

How It Works:

Example Selection: Prompts are chosen based on the number of reasoning steps they contain.

Complexity-Based Consistency: During decoding, multiple reasoning chains are sampled, and the majority vote is taken from the most complex chains.

Advantages:

Improved Performance: Substantially better accuracy on multi-step reasoning tasks.

Robustness: Effective even under different prompt distributions and noisy data.

Progressive-Hint Prompting (PHP)

What It Is: PHP iteratively refines the model’s answers by using previously generated rationales as hints. This method leverages the model’s previous responses to guide it toward the correct answer through multiple iterations.

How It Works:

Initial Answer: The model generates a base answer using a standard prompt.

Hints and Refinements: This base answer is then used as a hint in subsequent prompts to refine the answer.

Iterative Process: This process continues until the answer stabilizes over consecutive iterations.

Advantages:

Accuracy: Significant improvements in reasoning accuracy.

Efficiency: Reduces the number of sample paths needed, enhancing computational efficiency.

Decomposed Prompting (DecomP)

What It Is: DecomP breaks down complex tasks into simpler sub-tasks, each handled by a specific prompt or model. This modular approach allows for more effective handling of intricate problems.

How It Works:

Task Decomposition: The main problem is divided into simpler sub-tasks.

Sub-Task Handlers: Each sub-task is managed by a dedicated model or prompt.

Modular Integration: These handlers can be optimized, replaced, or combined as needed to solve the complex task.

Advantages:

Flexibility: Easy to debug and improve specific sub-tasks.

Scalability: Handles tasks with long contexts and complex sub-tasks effectively.

Hypotheses-to-Theories (HtT) Prompting

What It Is: HtT uses a scientific discovery process where the model generates and verifies hypotheses to solve complex problems. This method involves creating a rule library from verified hypotheses, which the model uses for reasoning.

How It Works:

Induction Stage: The model generates potential rules and verifies them against training examples.

Rule Library Creation: Verified rules are collected to form a rule library.

Deduction Stage: The model applies these rules to new problems, using the rule library to guide its reasoning.

Advantages:

Accuracy: Reduces the likelihood of errors by relying on a verified set of rules.

Transferability: The learned rules can be transferred across different models and problem forms.

Tool-Enhanced Prompting Techniques

Toolformer

Toolformer integrates LLMs with external tools via text-to-text APIs, allowing the model to use these tools to solve problems it otherwise couldn’t. For example, an LLM could call a calculator API to perform arithmetic operations.

Chameleon

Chameleon uses a central LLM-based controller to generate a program that composes several tools to solve complex reasoning tasks. This approach leverages a broad set of tools, including vision models and web search engines, to enhance problem-solving capabilities.

GPT4Tools

GPT4Tools finetunes open-source LLMs to use multimodal tools via a self-instruct approach, demonstrating that even non-proprietary models can effectively leverage external tools for improved performance.

Gorilla and HuggingGPT

Both Gorilla and HuggingGPT integrate LLMs with specialized deep learning models available online. These systems use a retrieval-aware finetuning process and a planning and coordination approach, respectively, to solve complex tasks involving multiple models.

Program-Aided Language Models (PALs) and Programs of Thoughts (PoTs)

In addition to integrating with external tools, researchers have explored ways to enhance LLMs’ problem-solving capabilities by combining natural language with programming constructs. Program-Aided Language Models (PALs) and Programs of Thoughts (PoTs) are two such approaches that leverage code to augment the LLM’s reasoning process.

PALs prompt the LLM to generate a rationale that interleaves natural language with code (e.g., Python), which can then be executed to produce the final solution. This approach addresses a common failure case where LLMs generate correct reasoning but produce an incorrect final answer.

Similarly, PoTs employ a symbolic math library like SymPy, allowing the LLM to define mathematical symbols and expressions that can be combined and evaluated using SymPy’s solve function. By delegating complex computations to a code interpreter, these techniques decouple reasoning from computation, enabling LLMs to tackle more intricate problems effectively.

Understanding and Leveraging Context Windows

LLMs’ performance heavily relies on their ability to process and leverage the context provided in the prompt. Researchers have investigated how LLMs handle long contexts and the impact of irrelevant or distracting information on their outputs.

The “Lost in the Middle” phenomenon highlights how LLMs tend to pay more attention to information at the beginning and end of their context, while information in the middle is often overlooked or “lost.” This insight has implications for prompt engineering, as carefully positioning relevant information within the context can significantly impact performance.

Another line of research focuses on mitigating the detrimental effects of irrelevant context, which can severely degrade LLM performance. Techniques like self-consistency, explicit instructions to ignore irrelevant information, and including exemplars that demonstrate solving problems with irrelevant context can help LLMs learn to focus on the most pertinent information.

Improving Writing Capabilities with Prompting Strategies

While LLMs excel at generating human-like text, their writing capabilities can be further enhanced through specialized prompting strategies. One such technique is Skeleton-of-Thought (SoT) prompting, which aims to reduce the latency of sequential decoding by mimicking the human writing process.

SoT prompting involves prompting the LLM to generate a skeleton or outline of its answer first, followed by parallel API calls to fill in the details of each outline element. This approach not only improves inference latency but can also enhance writing quality by encouraging the LLM to plan and structure its output more effectively.

Another prompting strategy, Chain of Density (CoD) prompting, focuses on improving the information density of LLM-generated summaries. By iteratively adding entities into the summary while keeping the length fixed, CoD prompting allows users to explore the trade-off between conciseness and completeness, ultimately producing more informative and readable summaries.

Emerging Directions and Future Outlook

Advanced Prompt Engineering

The field of prompt engineering is rapidly evolving, with researchers continuously exploring new frontiers and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with LLMs. Some emerging directions include:

Active Prompting: Techniques that leverage uncertainty-based active learning principles to identify and annotate the most helpful exemplars for solving specific reasoning problems.

Multimodal Prompting: Extending prompting strategies to handle multimodal inputs that combine text, images, and other data modalities.

Automatic Prompt Generation: Developing optimization techniques to automatically generate effective prompts tailored to specific tasks or domains.

Interpretability and Explainability: Exploring prompting methods that improve the interpretability and explainability of LLM outputs, enabling better transparency and trust in their decision-making processes.

As LLMs continue to advance and find applications in various domains, prompt engineering will play a crucial role in unlocking their full potential. By leveraging the latest prompting techniques and strategies, researchers and practitioners can develop more powerful, reliable, and task-specific AI solutions that push the boundaries of what’s possible with natural language processing.

Conclusion

The field of prompt engineering for large language models is rapidly evolving, with researchers continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. From enhancing reasoning capabilities with techniques like Chain-of-Thought prompting to integrating LLMs with external tools and programs, the latest advances in prompt engineering are unlocking new frontiers in artificial intelligence.

[kisaanhelpline]

Cultivating Change: Understanding the Dynamics of Indian Crop Varieties

Welcome to the Kisaan Helpline Online Service Provider Portal, where we will explore the diverse landscape of Indian agriculture. In this blog post, we will explore the rich tapestry of crop varieties that grace the fields of India. From staple grains to a vibrant array of fruits and vegetables, we aim to shed light on the complexities of Indian agriculture and how it is evolving.

Crop Data Search

To truly understand the dynamics of Indian crop varieties, we must first delve deeper into the vast repository of crop data available. India is home to numerous crops, each with its unique characteristics and growing requirements. From Zaid crops that thrive in the summer months to Rabi crops that thrive in winter, India's agricultural calendar is marked by a rich diversity of crops.

List of Crops in India

The list of crops grown in India is as extensive as it is diverse. Cereals such as rice, wheat and maize are the backbone of Indian agriculture, providing livelihood to millions of people across the country. Furthermore, India has a vibrant range of fruits and vegetables, from mangoes and bananas to potatoes and tomatoes. Herbs and medicinal plants also play an important role in both domestic and international markets.

Understanding Indian Crop Information

To truly appreciate the breadth and depth of Indian agriculture, it is necessary to delve into the information available about each crop. From farming methods to yield potential, understanding the nuances of each crop is important for farmers who want to maximize their productivity. Kisaan Helpline, Aims to provide comprehensive crop information to empower farmers and stakeholders in the agriculture value chain.

Crop Season Search

One of the defining characteristics of Indian agriculture is its dependence on seasonal crops. The Kharif season, which coincides with the monsoon months, sees the cultivation of crops such as rice, millet and cotton. In contrast, the Rabi season, which occurs during the winter months, is characterized by the cultivation of wheat, barley and mustard. By understanding the seasonal dynamics of crop cultivation, farmers can better plan their planting schedules and optimize their yields.

Major Crops Grown in India

While India cultivates a wide variety of crops, some crops stand out for their economic importance and widespread cultivation. Rice, wheat and sugarcane are among the major crops grown in India, contributing significantly to the country's agricultural production. Additionally, cash crops such as cotton, jute and tea play an important role in India's economy, generating employment and earning foreign exchange.

Diversity in Crop Varieties

One of the most remarkable aspects of Indian agriculture is the incredible diversity of its crop varieties. India's diverse climate and topography provide ideal conditions for the cultivation of a wide variety of crops, from the fertile plains of Punjab to the lush tea gardens of Assam. This diversity extends beyond just grains and includes an abundance of fruits, vegetables, spices and medicinal herbs. For example, the Western Ghats are famous for their coffee and spice plantations, while the Ganga plains are famous for their sugarcane fields.

Traditional vs Modern Crops

While traditional crops such as rice, wheat and pulses remain the backbone of Indian agriculture, there has also been a gradual shift towards the cultivation of modern crops. High-value crops such as fruits, vegetables and flowers are gaining popularity among farmers due to their attractive returns and organic farming and quinoa, avocado and exotic herbs are growing to meet the needs of health-conscious consumers domestically and internationally. -Interest in specific crops like herbs is increasing.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite the vast potential of Indian agriculture, farmers often face several challenges ranging from unpredictable weather patterns to pest outbreaks and market fluctuations. However, with these challenges also come opportunities for innovation and growth. The advent of technology and precision agriculture has enabled farmers to make informed decisions regarding crop selection, irrigation and pest management. Additionally, initiatives such as crop insurance and government subsidies aim to provide financial security to farmers and reduce the risks associated with farming.

Sustainable Farming Practices

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on sustainable agricultural practices aimed at preserving the environment and preserving natural resources. Practices like organic farming, agroforestry and crop rotation not only ensure soil health and fertility but also reduce dependence on chemical inputs and initiatives like promoting indigenous crop varieties and traditional farming techniques to ensure food for future generations. Helps preserve biodiversity and cultural heritage while ensuring security.

Future Outlook

As we look to the future, it is clear that Indian agriculture is at a crossroads. Rapid urbanization, changing consumer preferences and climate change pose significant challenges that need to be collectively addressed. However, with innovation, collaboration and a shared commitment to sustainable agriculture, there is immense potential to transform Indian agriculture and usher in a new era of prosperity for farmers and stakeholders.

Conclusion

The dynamics of Indian crop varieties are shaped by myriad factors including geography, climate, culture and technology. From traditional grains that have sustained communities for centuries, to the emerging crops of the future, Indian agriculture is constantly evolving and adapting to changing times. Kisaan Helpline, we are dedicated to supporting farmers in dealing with these changes and harnessing the full potential of Indian agriculture for a sustainable and prosperous future.

[zannatykhatun]

 Product optimization suggestions

1. Product function optimization

1) Improved search function

Currently, the mobile search results of both products do not have a sorting function. When there are many search results, users cannot quickly locate the files they want to find by relying only on the title, parent folder/knowledge base and other information. Therefore, it is recommended to provide some sorting functions for search results, such as sorting by latest editing time, sorting by creation time, sorting by first letter of title, etc., to facilitate users to further search and locate.

In addition to searching documents,  HE Tuber this function is not provided for searching within documents. When users are processing long documents, they may want to find all locations that contain a certain keyword, or they may want to find the location of a certain paragraph but cannot Just remember the requirements for certain keywords in the paragraph. At this time, the search function in the document can greatly facilitate users and improve editing efficiency and experience.

In terms of search scope, the PC and mobile terminals I came from are consistent. The search scope of Yuque mobile includes notes, documents and knowledge bases, but does not include Yuque’s public content, while the search scope of PC includes Yuque’s public content. Considering that most usage scenarios of users on the mobile side are to search and Therefore, it is recommended that the search scope of the mobile terminal also include Yuque’s public content to increase the breadth of the search.

2) Mobile terminal/iPad terminal improvement

After checking the latest 100 reviews of the two products in the APP Store, we found that many users felt that the experience on the mobile or iPad was not friendly enough. Therefore, we screened and summarized three types of needs that appear frequently:

The mobile terminal/iPad terminal supports handwriting mode, including handwriting graffiti, handwriting input, etc.

The mobile/iPad client can provide various document templates for users to use just like the PC client.

The mobile terminal supports landscape mode for a better reading experience.

In addition to these, users also reported a lot of editing experience issues, such as editing font sizes, being unable to copy content across domains (I come), etc. It was suggested that I come and the Yuque team to strengthen the product on mobile and iPad As a note-taking application, it is still used very frequently on mobile terminals and iPad terminals.

3) Batch operations

Currently, both products do not support batch operations on files. When users need to delete/share multiple documents, they can only repeat the operation by clicking one by one, which greatly reduces efficiency and user experience, and may cause users to lose patience and churn. user.

It is recommended that ILai and the Yuque team can support batch operations on files in subsequent version iterations , such as batch sharing, deletion, movement, etc., to improve operational efficiency and reduce user time costs.

4) View documents offline

The environment and geographical location of the mobile terminal are uncontrollable and changeable. Since the content of both products is stored in the cloud, when the user is in a scene where the network signal is poor or some other extreme circumstances require emergency When viewing the content, there is no guarantee that the user can view the document content normally.

Although this situation is very special and extreme, the harm and impact caused to users is as irreparable as a data leak. Therefore, I and the Yuque team can consider investing certain resources in the function of being able to view documents offline. For example, we can consider that note content can be stored both in the cloud and locally. The specific method requires in-depth research based on specific situations.

In addition to the content mentioned above, here are some more detailed functional interaction optimization suggestions for the two products.

I come:

When the directory list files reach a certain number, if the user needs to switch back and forth between multiple different files, and these files are all in different folders, that is, the file paths are very different, the operating experience will not be very friendly. It is recommended that the recently opened file tabs be displayed on the top toolbar of the PC, just like the top tab bar of a browser, to facilitate users to switch between different files.

The functions of "Today's Shorthand" and "New Page" in the bottom navigation bar of the mobile terminal are duplicated. The only difference between the two is that the file title of "Today's Shorthand" is the date of the day, and "New Page" has no title by default. It is recommended to only keep "Today's Shorthand" in the bottom navigation bar, and "New Page" only needs to be provided on the directory list page.

Added "Latest Access" file list on PC to facilitate quick access for users.

The document content area provides a one-click return to the top button to improve the user's editing efficiency and reading experience.

Yuque:

The document list on the mobile terminal requires clicking to enter the reading page before clicking the edit button to perform editing operations. It is recommended that an editing icon be provided on the document list. Users can directly click the editing icon to enter the editing page, reducing user operation paths and saving time.

It is recommended that the document editing page on the mobile terminal support displaying the title table of contents. You can refer to my mobile terminal editing page. A floating button is provided on the right side. After clicking, the document table of contents will slide out from the right side in the form of a drawer.

2. Product marketing optimization

1) Student users

Most of the main user groups of the two products are concentrated in the 19-34 age group, of which the 19-24 age group accounts for a larger proportion. Their migration resistance is smaller and they are prone to churn.

There are three main reasons:

The total usage time is small and the amount of data is small, resulting in low usage habits and low data migration cost, so the migration cost is even smaller.

Most of the users are school students or newcomers to the workplace, with relatively limited spending power and even lower willingness to assume membership accounts.

Young people are more receptive to new things and are easily diverted by the brilliance of other competing products.

Faced with these problems, here are three solution suggestions from different perspectives:

Strengthen cooperation with B-side. For example, we can seek for colleges and universities to use their own products as daily homework submission, correction, and feedback systems, and open some paid functions to teachers and students to achieve paperless teaching.

Introduce student status certification and promote student discounts, so that certified students can purchase membership services at a lower price, and gain target users of other note-taking applications with services with richer functions and higher cost performance. When the user graduates one year later, the preferential policy will be changed and the student price will be smoothly transitioned to the ordinary preferential price. Since the user has accumulated a certain amount of data, usage habits, and product feelings at this time, user migration will be less likely to occur.

Provide a UI design style that is in line with young aesthetics. For example, comics, animation, movies or popular IP styles. Or on the premise of retaining the product LOGO and concept, the UI design integrates the LOGOs, landmarks and other school characteristics of major universities to enhance product affinity and improve user stickiness.

2) User incentives

① Sign-in mechanism

The two products can be designed with a sign-in mechanism, and users can obtain certain rewards by signing in, such as points from Wolai and rice from Yuque. Points from Wolai can be exchanged for personal version of professional space, and rice from Yuque can be exchanged for membership, peripherals, etc. Gifts allow users to obtain point rewards through the simplest sign-in method, and set up a sign-in mechanism in which the more consecutive sign-in days, the greater the reward, to encourage users to use the product.

② Function experience

In order to encourage users to explore application functions, experience other products in the same ecosystem, and cooperate with satisfaction surveys, the two products can try to provide users with the opportunity to receive short-term membership for free or at a low price .

In addition, users can also experience the convenience and practicality of the membership version functions by allowing users to experience short-term membership services for free for the first time, provided that the membership service functions are enough to attract users.

③Creative incentives

The starting point and core function of a note-taking software is recording, or creation.

Creative incentives can be implemented in many forms, such as:

Enrich data statistics functions to make accumulation and progress visible.

Certain rewards (points from me/rice from Yuque) are issued every day based on the user's creation, editing, sharing and other operations.

Encourage users to post and share their notes, thoughts and summaries to the knowledge community (such as Yuque’s Hangout), allowing strangers to become witnesses of growth.

3) Offline promotion

Cooperate with cultural venues such as bookstores, libraries, and museums to regularly hold offline lectures and sharing sessions to bind brand and cultural concepts, strengthen brand image, and increase brand awareness.

In addition, you can also try to enter universities and cooperate with cultural clubs, provide certain activity funds, and participate in club activities. Or enter the community, cooperate with community colleges and libraries, and participate in community cultural activities.

6. Summary

SWOT analysis:

Nowadays, there are many similar products on the market with similar functions. In order to stand out, in addition to meeting user needs and adding highlights, user experience is also very important. The user operation process should be simplified as much as possible to make users use it more efficiently.

In the future, the market potential of efficient office and knowledge management will still be huge. It is hoped that both products can fully tap and meet the increasingly daily needs of knowledge management in the future. Only by continuously digging into product value is the real long-term path.

This article was originally published by @Rockky on Everyone is a Product Manager. Reprinting without permission is prohibited.

The title picture comes from Unsplash, based on the CC0 agreement

The opinions in this article represent only the author's own. The Renren Product Manager platform only provides information storage space services.

every day. However, the capacity of our memory is obviously limited. In order to retain valuable information, many people have the habit of taking notes.

The traditional way is to use pen and paper to record, but this method has obviously failed to keep up with the Internet era, the speed at which we obtain information, and it is inconvenient to review and manage. Therefore, various online note-taking software have appeared on the market. With the characteristics of mobile Internet, note-taking applications have greatly expanded their uses and have more usage scenarios.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" Employment Promotion Plan (Source: State Council, 2021) proposes to improve the lifelong learning system. With the popularization of the concept of lifelong learning and the development of online office, the demand for knowledge organization and office collaboration is also increasing . Online notes The importance of applications is also becoming increasingly apparent. Whether it is personal note-taking software or office collaboration software, they have received great development and recognition from users in the Internet era.

Market size of China’s collaborative office industry (iiMedia Consulting)

According to iiMedia Research’s research data, China’s collaborative office market will reach 26.42 billion yuan in 2021, and the market continues to grow. The normalization of the epidemic has helped enterprises and institutions accelerate digital transformation, and the market demand for collaborative office software has further expanded. It is expected that China's collaborative office industry will maintain an annual growth rate of more than 10% from 2021 to 2023, and the market size will reach 33.01 billion yuan in 2023.

In addition, the steady growth of China's digital economy in recent years has boosted high-quality development. The digital transformation of enterprises has become a fixed trend. The business demand for collaborative office will be further released, and the foundation for industry development will become increasingly solid. Overall, the growth rate of the collaborative office market will slow down in the future and continue to grow steadily. Therefore, future collaborative office manufacturers will focus more on product polishing and functional refinement.

In the 1980s, old office software such as WordStar and Microsoft Office aimed to solve the problem of digital information processing.

Entering the 21st century, web-based Google Docs has solved the problems of file uploading to the cloud and collaboration. Anyone can quickly access and update information instantly through the Internet, accelerating the efficiency of information circulation. In recent years, some cloud note-taking applications have focused on issues such as efficiency improvement and knowledge management.

This article mainly focuses on two online note and document collaboration products - Wolai and Yuque, testing and experiencing their product positioning for personal note management, and further analyzing the target users, functional structure, interaction design, business operations, etc. Conduct comparative analysis.

[myprogrammingsolver]

​Recitation 9 Graph Algorithms

Objectives What is a Graph? Depth First Search Breadth First Search Exercise Challenge 1 (Silver Badge) Challenge 2 (Gold Badge) In real world, many problems are represented in terms of objects and connections between them. For example, in an airline route map, we might be interested in questions like: “What’s the fastest way to go from Denver to San Francisco” or “What is the cheapest way…

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

All right. So.

Interesting mapping question.

Suppose you have a map, represented as a graph with coordinates.

And your little robot is told the coordinates of the exit of a maze, but not where any of the obstacles are.

Do you alter your algorithm to make use of this?

I feel like I'd run two algorithms - an "assume-it's-easy" search and then the common breadth-first as a backup.

Assume-It's-Easy Search would be a variant of Depth-First where instead of a standard "NESW" clockwise rotation for deciding what direction to try next on arriving in a given square, it starts by attempting to go toward the correct coordinates. If you're at (1,1) and you know the goal is at (5,5) the first move you TRY should be toward (1,2) or (2,1). It should not be toward (1,0) or (0,1).

This cuts out the usual problem with Depth-First Search - that being that when it doesn't guess the direction correctly on the first try it can spend an inordinate amount of time going the wrong way. After all, "depth first" means going until it hits some form of dead end before trying an alternative.

But in a program like Maps you're not "guessing direction." You have to be careful about city streets that will literally only let you go the right way after going the wrong way for 6 blocks (lookin' at you, Boston), but generally you can determine that you want to go toward [place you said you wanted to go] and prioritize that.

This also answers a curiosity I had during class: Why the hell were we even learning about Depth-First Search? We learned about DFS and BFS at the same time as if they were equal and then were introduced to a bunch of examples where BFS was vastly superior.

But when it comes to applying values to the process of where to search next because you do have information about your target? Depth-First Search is often better! While it's possible to have mazes where going as straight as possible toward the exit you can see is secretly counterproductive, randomly-generated mazes are not going to trend toward that being the case. Usually, the Depth-First will be getting closer to the goal faster, and I'd bet most of the time that will result in enough trimming of the overall problem that it solves it faster than BFS.

The thing is, you can apply this superior information to BFS but it won't help. If you tell a BFS to prioritize "go the right way" it's still only doing that for a single room or intersection. So in the above "go from 1,1 to 5,5" example, it would start by adding 1,2 and 2,1 to the list, yes, but then it would still look at 1,0 and 0,1 before adding 1,3 or 2,2 or 3,1. Because that's what "breadth-first" means. It means assessing all the options attached to a given node before moving on to the next one, and prioritizing what's closest to your start point to make sure you've searched everything and can efficiently return the shortest route.

[elenajohansenreads]

Books I Read in 2023

#99 - Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury

Rating: 4/5 stars

I've read quite a few books on writing by this point, mostly by authors I respect--Stephen King and Ursula K. Le Guin come to mind as the best of the bunch, though the works are vastly different. I read a fair bit of Bradbury as a teenager, reread The Martian Chronicles recently and found it's still a favorite years later, and mean to read much more of his catalog that I didn't get to on my first pass, reading my mother's original, tattered paperbacks.

That includes this book, which I did not realize before starting was a collection of essays Bradbury had written on the subject of writing over the course of his long career. The format led to some repetition, as anyone telling stories about their life will tell them multiple times over the years to different people--several essays prominently featured the Buck Rogers comic-strip incident, for example. But on the whole, reading essays by the same author that spanned such a long career and breadth of experience was enlightening. Some of the practical advice that worked for him is less practical now, as pumping out a short story a week to send to "the magazines" isn't necessarily as viable a road to potential success as he enjoyed; but the advice pertaining to the craft of writing itself, I found inspiring.

I especially liked his list: the ongoing collection of nouns he kept around for inspiration, which seemed like a particularly useful way to springboard from a simple object, like a jar, to some sort of fantastical horror or science fiction tale about that object. I immediately wanted to start my own list (and I have) but as I didn't feel like a list of object-nouns would be as useful to me as a romance writer, I've started a list of character concepts: a few of my entries so far are "the penny pincher" and "the flower hunter." The first one is inspired by a character in an anime I'm currently watching, because his obsession with the bottom line in his business defines his role, but the broader concept is applicable to so many more situations than the office money man. The second is simply a phrase I liked from a recent read (On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous) that, in context, did not literally mean a person who hunted for flowers, but could mean that in something I wrote--in a real-world setting that would probably mean a scientist searching for the flower for some reason, and in a fantasy setting it could be a full-blown occupation itself to supply your inevitable potion-makers with their reagents.

Since I haven't started a new project with this list to hand, I don't yet know how successful it will be as a tool for my writing, but lists appeal to my brain, and this is a long-term sort of thing, not necessarily meant to have immediate effects. (At least, if I'm not trying to write a short story in one sitting on Monday, to revise three times from Tuesday to Thursday, and to finally edit and send out on Friday, as Bradbury apparently did weekly for years.)

Beyond the irritation of the repetitious stories, though, my other gripe with this work is that it's very much a reflection of a man writing in a man's world; he mentions his wife typing his stories, he uses "man" and male pronouns as the default for referring to hypothetical people including the reader, and the authors he name-drops are overwhelmingly male. (The only two women I remember him mentioning are Sara Teasdale and Le Guin. Which are great choices, but they were the only ones.)

I admit that I'm personally bitter about the wife-typing thing, not just because of the massive history of the unacknowledged labor of women supporting male authors, but because my hateful, backwards grandmother assumed I was typing up all of my future-husband's papers while we were in college together. Of course he had to write the papers, because they were his classwork, but I was supposed to be typing them, while I was also doing all of my own work too.

She was absolutely shocked that I let him type his own papers, and did not seem to understand, even after my explanations, that on computers, writing is typing--he wasn't drafting longhand on paper first; and that it was massively unfair and sexist to expect a woman to take time away from her own schoolwork to help her boyfriend with his with no expectation of reciprocity.

Yes, I told her, we often (but not always) asked each other to proofread each other's papers, because we were both good writers; but she was flabbergasted that he helped me with my work.

So, yeah, Bradbury's writing memoir perpetuates some outdated sexist attitudes reflective of his time that happen to also personally piss me off. But setting that aside, it's still got useful things to say about the craft, and about his personal experiences, and even a little about the history and development of science fiction as a genre, so this definitely isn't a "cancel the book" situation. It just raised my hackles sometimes.

[surethingroofingcontractor]

Equip yourself with the right knowledge to choose the best roofing contractor!

Navigate the world of roofing contractors confidently with our expert guide!

Whether you're repairing a leaky roof or installing a new one, selecting the right roofing contractor is a vital decision for every homeowner. With countless companies and individual contractors claiming to offer the best services, how do you sift through the noise? Equip yourself with the right knowledge, and the choice becomes straightforward!

Understand Your Roofing Needs

Before diving into your search, understand your needs:

Type of roofing material: Are you considering asphalt shingles, metal, or perhaps clay tiles? Extent of the project: Is it a minor repair, complete replacement, or a new installation?

Research and Recommendations

Start with personal recommendations. Friends, family, or neighbors might have had similar work done recently. Online reviews on platforms like Google My Business or Yelp can offer insights about local contractors.

Check Credentials and Experience

A roofing contractor should be licensed to operate in your state. Ensure they are insured. This protects you from potential liabilities during the project. The longer they've been in business, the better. Experience often equates to expertise.

Ask About Warranty

The best roofing contractors stand by their work with a warranty. Ensure both the material and labor are covered.

Get Multiple Quotes

While it might be tempting to go with the first quote you receive, comparing multiple bids can give you a clearer picture of the market rate and value.

FAQs:

Q: How often should I have my roof inspected?

A: Ideally, once a year or after major storms.

Q: Is it essential for a roofing contractor to have insurance?

A: Absolutely! This protects you from potential liabilities.

Q: What's the average lifespan of a typical asphalt shingle roof?

A: Around 20 to 25 years, depending on maintenance and weather conditions.

Look for LSI Keywords

In your research, note terms frequently associated with "roofing contractor". For example:

Roof installation Roof maintenance Roof repair services Residential roofing Commercial roofing Roof inspection These can help you understand the breadth of services a contractor provides.

Be Clear on Payment Terms

Never pay the full amount upfront. Most reputable contractors will request a deposit, with the remainder due upon completion.

Communication is Key

From the initial consultation to project completion, clear communication ensures your expectations align with the contractor's deliverables.

Go Beyond Price

While budget is essential, the cheapest bid may not always offer the best value. Consider experience, work quality, and reviews.

Conclusion

Choosing the right roofing contractor can seem overwhelming. But, with the right knowledge and a structured approach, you can make an informed decision that ensures your home is in safe hands.

Ready to equip your home with the best roof? Reach out to a trusted local contractor today, and ensure a roof that lasts!

Click here to visit us or you can also check us here

Want to read more?

[algowalker]

Understanding Binary Search: A Efficient Technique for Finding in Sorted Arrays

Introduction

In the realm of computer science and algorithms, efficiency is a key factor in solving complex problems. Binary search, a fundamental algorithm, stands as a shining example of efficiency when it comes to searching for elements in sorted arrays. This article delves into the concept of What is Binary Search elucidating its working principle, advantages, and scenarios where it shines.

Demystifying Binary Search

Binary search is a search algorithm that operates on sorted arrays, cutting down the search space in half with each iteration. Unlike linear search, which examines each element one by one, binary search exploits the property of sorted arrays to efficiently locate the desired element.

Here's how binary search works:

Initialization: Begin with the entire sorted array.

Comparison: Compare the middle element of the current search space with the target element.

Divide and Conquer: If the middle element matches the target, the search is successful. If the target is smaller,

focus the search on the left half of the array; if it's larger, focus on the right half.

Repeat: Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the chosen sub-array. Continue this process until the target element is found or the search space becomes empty.

Binary search's power lies in its ability to drastically reduce the number of comparisons needed to find an element, making it an optimal choice for large datasets.

Advantages of Binary Search

Efficiency: Binary search operates with a time complexity of O(log n), where n is the number of elements in the array. This is a significant improvement over linear search's O(n) time complexity, especially for large datasets.

Optimal for Sorted Data: Binary search capitalizes on sorted arrays, making it ideal for applications where data is organized. It's frequently used in scenarios like searching in dictionaries, phonebooks, and databases.

Resource Savings: In addition to time efficiency, binary search also requires less memory compared to other algorithms like depth-first search or breadth-first search.

When to Use Binary Search

Binary search is not universally applicable; it shines under specific conditions

Sorted Data: As mentioned earlier, binary search necessitates a sorted dataset. If the data isn't sorted,

preprocessing steps must be undertaken, potentially negating its efficiency advantage.

Static Data: Binary search is most effective when the data remains relatively unchanged. If the data frequently undergoes insertions or deletions, the cost of maintaining the sorted order might outweigh the algorithm's benefits.

Search Intensive Operations: When the search process is repeated multiple times, the initial investment in sorting the data and implementing binary search pays off with each subsequent search.

For more info:-

What is Cocktail Sort

What is Dijkstra Algo

[bristefreelanceservice]

Unlocking the Secrets of Keyword Research Trends & Tips

Unlocking the Secrets of Keyword Research Trends & Tips

The internet is a vast and ever-changing landscape, and before businesses can reach new customers online they must understand the language of search engine optimization (SEO) and the importance of keyword research. By understanding keyword research trends and tips, businesses can craft effective SEO campaigns that bring in more customers and more traffic.

Cracking the Code on Keyword Research: Trends & Strategies

The first step towards unlocking the secrets of keyword research is to understand current trends in the industry. Understanding search engine algorithms and what they prioritize helps businesses understand what keywords will be most effective for a given search. Additionally, staying up-to-date on trends in keyword research can help businesses capitalize on changes in internet culture and usage. Another important part of keyword research is developing a strategy for utilizing them. Taking the time to craft an effective strategy can make the difference between a successful SEO campaign and an ineffective one. Understanding the keyword trends and using those insights to formulate an effective strategy is a key component of successful keyword research. Finally, leveraging the right tools is essential to effective keyword research. For example, using keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner and Semrush can provide insights into the most effective keywords in a given industry while giving businesses an idea of the competition for certain keywords.

Finding the Path to Success with Keyword Research Tips & Tricks

Once businesses understand the trends and strategies of keywords, they can break down the process into smaller steps and use tips and tricks to more effectively navigate the industry. For example, targeting long-tail keywords provides a better chance at achieving higher search engine rankings as they offer more specific, niche phrases that are less competitive than shorter keywords. Additionally, analyzing competitors’ keyword use can allow businesses to see which keywords are working and which are not. Another key to successful keyword research is breadth over depth; businesses should aim to have a wide variety of keywords rather than focusing on one or two. Additionally, don’t forget local keywords; more companies are appearing in local searches and having a solid foundation of local keyword phrases can give businesses an advantage. Finally, businesses should focus on updating their content to utilize new and trending keywords. By taking the time to expand upon existing content, businesses can make sure they get the most out of their SEO campaigns and capitalize on any new trends in the industry.

Conclusion

Keyword research is an essential part of successful SEO campaigns, and taking the time to explore the trends & strategies of keyword research and tips & tricks for successful campaigns can pay dividends for businesses. With the right tools and understanding, businesses can unlock the secrets of keyword research and enjoy the rewards of higher search engine rankings and more customers. Read the full article