#everything just costs money and money and i've been investing a lot in this little shop of mine but so far i've never seen any earnings

[tsundereition]

you might remember i once said i've been busy doing merch for local cons etc. well, this is an acrylic keyring that i did!

however it didn't sell at all so i'm thinking of selling them online, would anyone buy it*, considering the shipping fee? (i am located in argentina)

(*i would offer more products so you can justify the shipping, this riddle keyring is an example)

(if yes but can't, just vote no, i won't get offended, i want to know the actual number)

(also reblogs are appreciated for a bigger sample size)

[lady-raziel]

long reaction to the update

ok. so they put out an update video! since i've been commentating for the last three days i might as well subject you all to more of my thoughts today.

main takeaway: this was a good apology video. i mean it. short and to the point, no overproduction, heartfelt and honest (and not a ukelele to be seen. thank god.) they took ownership of the situation, apologized, and restated how much they value their relationship with the fandom.

their solution is to make the watcher tv platform into kind of an iteration of patreon where content is available for early access before it is released onto youtube later. this is clearly a better option than paywalling everything for everyone. i'm not sure what the relative breakdown of costs turns out to be when you compare how much they were making on patreon after the platform took their cut VS how much it costs in overhead to run and maintain their own platform (how much it costs annually to contract via Vimeo, essentially). but i'm sure that's part of the calculation.

all things considered, that does seem like the best option out of all the alternatives. it allows them to not completely abandon any of the pans they have simmering over the fire for the time being. i don't think i ever thought they were going to just say "oops, forget about the streaming thing! let's pretend that never happened!" because at this point they've invested quite a lot of time and money into it, and i don't disagree that keeping it in some iteration may help them make up some of the funds they're lacking.

i would say, it's fine to keep the streamer. this is one of the ok outcomes, all things considered-- but if they're going to do it, they've GOT to do it smart from this point forward. listen to both the fans and the consultants intimately. both are going to have valid points, and both are going to be right. listening to too much of either side will sink this thing because each has motives and expertise that the other doesn't. if the fans say $6 is too much, listen to them-- but have conversations with business consultants about how much you realistically need to charge to make things work.

also, i'd use this whole situation as a learning experience. watcher is a young company, and it's literally inevitable that mistakes will happen. what's different is that the watcher crew haven't really been in a position before where they've been on the receiving end of the internet-angry-justice-hammer to this extent. it's one thing to watch it happen to others, but it's a position of extreme privilege (and a bit of hubris) to think "but that won't happen to me, because i'm built different." naw, man-- two things in life are inevitable: death and fuckups. the callout posts get us all in the end.

what's really important is that they use this as a wakeup call that even the most loyal fandoms will only follow you so far to the cliff's edge, and you don't want to push that. you have to strike a balance between the passion projects that you think are worthy and the stuff that maybe doesn't excite you as much anymore but the people want to see. a little fanservice keeps the lights on, as unfair as that might seem. i'm gonna make 50 markiplier choccy milk memes just so i can make one niche political joke once and a while for 6 likes. it is what it is.

i'd also use this as a chance to take a very careful look at company structure and finances. it's not fun to do and nobody likes it. trust me-- this is hard whether you're a single adult trying to pay the bills or the freaking US government (speaking from experience on both-- i have to read the president's budget for work frequently). but you all have to ask hard questions about the ratio of creative staff you take on VS staff for administrative and other business roles, as well as the costs and benefits of everything you spend money on. how many staff members are essential to location shoots? can this video be shot with 2 cameras instead of 3 and thus you don't need another cameraperson? you might even have to come to the decision that instead of pitching a new show it makes more sense to use those funds to hire your essential non-creative roles or contract firms or freelancers.

paying staff a fair wage with benefits speaks highly of what watcher wants their values to be. it's hard to find such a position in a creative role and still actually get to work on things you care about. but it would be much worse if watcher didn't make realistic decisions about finances and it lead to the death of the company and everyone losing their jobs. the whole watcher company can work, in my opinion, but not without some sacrifices. they're going to have to run it more like a business and less like a youtube-channel-turned-business in the future if they want to survive.

last thing i'll add is that while i do think this was a good apology video, i still think they hurt themselves by not putting out some sort of statement on Friday or Saturday just to say that they were formulating a response. As i've said in other posts, it's ok and in fact beneficial to not make a kneejerk reaction, but it's also very important to communicate that you SEE what's happening. you SEE what people are saying and THAT'S why you need more time to respond. saying nothing and leaving the angry public to wonder if you dropped your phone off the Hoover Dam or just don't care? that's a fumble. it's a common mistake companies make in a crisis, but that doesn't mean it doesn't erode trust fast.

this could have been handled better in many ways. we see that, and i'm glad watcher says they see that too. crucial going forward is taking all this and patching the errors that caused all this to fall apart and learning from the experience.

tbh at this point what i'm most sad about is that the watcher crew have probably been too stressed out and upset to appreciate some of the absolute bangers people have been laying down to clown on them. i think if it wasn't about them they might be touched by the collective attitude and creative spirit. /j

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

@throwaway20506 so I'm alerted when this is posted

WIBTA if I asked my boyfriend to pay for things more often?

I'm currently dating a guy who is from a very wealthy family, like. Super wealthy. As in, he lives in a one bedroom apartment downtown in one of the most expensive cities in the USA. He knows a lot of like. Semi famous and famous people. He's currently studying in the city I live in and we met at a gay event. Since he's studying, his actual income is somewhat lower bc he doesn't work all the time, but he has Investments (I'm not sure what that means to be honest, but it's how he pays for stuff like groceries and going out when he isn't working) and his family pays for his rent and stuff. He's obviously not hurting for cash in any way. On the other hand, I'm not destitute or anything but I work two jobs to make ends meet and have three roommates, and generally try to not spend more than I have to.

We both like to eat, so we go out for food sometimes. I've usually picked cheaper options and he tends to go for fancier places, like a place we went had caviar that he ordered? I've always been poor and haven't ever really had any close friends that were wealthy.

I expressed before that I wanted him to know I wasn't trying to take advantage of him for money or anything, and I'm not. He's genuinely a very sweet guy. He's bought me a few gifts before, but I never asked for anything. I want our relationship to be like. Fair and even. So we always split everything cost-wise 50/50. Which can also be kinda weird for me sometimes, w my poor friends if something is cheap (like if we order McDonald's or smth) we're very comfortable spotting each other or just "oh you can get it next time" type thing. But with him every little thing is 50/50.

The thing is, when we split 50/50 at some more expensive places, it's kind of more than I really want to spend going out. Sometimes there really aren't any cheap options on the menu. I've told him before that I don't want to spend a lot when we go out, but I think he just doesn't really have a good idea of what "a lot" is for me, and he really really enjoys these places. I'm also very aware I guess that his going out expenses don't really detract from his ability to do other things because all of his money is pocket money, whereas I need to budget to make sure I can afford non-boyfriend related fun stuff and rent and boyfriend stuff.

I've considered maybe asking him to pay a bit more of a share when we go out, but I'm not sure if that's fair. WIBTA if I asked to split 60/40 or something when we go out? Or maybe cover the meal sometimes? I don't want to tell him we can't go to his favorite restaurant, I just can't really afford it as easily as he can, and I know it won't negatively affect his finances if he pays more since he has. A lottt of money. I also don't usually get a lot, I was taught to always order something cheaper than the other person orders.

[whetstonefires]

After seeing your weatherbugapp reblog i installed duckduckgo and tried it.

I don't know much about technology tbh but i downloaded this app less than 30 mins ago and in that time google tried to track me 112 times?? And they tried to collect finger prints? And my first and last name? And my gender? And my country, state and city? My gps coordinates? My postal code? My network carrier? My fricking battery level for whatever reason? Can you please tell me if this is normal at all, because i'm freaking out right now. I just turned 18 and started using mobile banking and stuff and this shit scares me

Why tf does it need to know my screen density???my system volume????my charging status????? What tf are they cooking

Now it's at 476 tracking attempts bro???? barely 5 mins passed.....

I condensed your three asks into one for readability!

And yeah, I'm very far from an expert about any of this, but as far as I know that's just. Normal. That's the normal amount of spying they're doing on your phone. I assume the numbers we see are to some extent because having been foiled, a lot of these scripts try repeatedly, since I can't imagine what use thousands of trackers per phone would be even to the great aggregators.

Tracking the phone stuff like screen resolution and battery level is because (apart from that definitely not being considered remotely 'private' so it's Free Real Estate) in aggregate that data can be used to track what phone use patterns are like on a demographic scale and therefore. Where the smart money is.

Almost all of this is getting sold in bulk for ad targeting and market analysis. This does presumably make it very hard to notice when like. Actually important stuff is being spied on, which is why I feel better about Having Apps with the duckduckgo app blocker thing.

My bank's app reportedly sells data to a couple aggregators including Google. Not like, my banking info, but it's still so offensive on principle that I avoid using the app unless I have to, and force stop it afterward.

The patterns that show up on the weekly duckduckgo blocker report are interesting. Hoopla attempts about two orders of magnitude more tracking than Libby, which makes sense because they're a commercial streaming service libraries pay by the unit for access, while Libby is a content management software run by a corporation that values its certification as a 'B' company--that is, one invested in the public good that can be trusted. The cleanness of their brand is a great deal of its value, so they have to care about their image and be a little more scrupulous.

Which doesn't mean not being a little bit spyware, because everything is spyware now. Something else I've noticed is that in terms of free game apps, the polished professional stuff is now much more invasive than the random kinda janky thing someone just threw together.

Back in the day you tended to expect the opposite, because spyware was a marginal shifty profit-margin with too narrow a revenue stream to be worth more to an established brand than their reputation, but now that everyone does it there's not a lot of reputation cost and refraining would be sacrificing a potential revenue stream, which is Irresponsible Conduct for a corporation.

While meanwhile 'developing a free game app to put on the game store' is something a person can do for free with the hardware they already have for home use, as a hobby or practice or to put on their coding resume. So while such apps absolutely can be malicious and more dangerous when they are than The Big Brand, they can also be neutral in a way commercial stuff no longer is. Wild world.

But yeah for the most part as far as I can make out, these are just The Commercial Panopticon, operating as intended. It's gross but it probably doesn't indicate anything dangerous on an individual level.

[mdianasims]

There currently are 7 contestants, which means the minimum has been reached! Woo!

There are still 5 spots left, so feel free to submit a Sim! I would like them filled, because I meticulously planned a challenge based on 12 contestants.

As for timing, real life* has been rather busy lately, so I might (have to) extend the deadline again. Know that I am really grateful for all the amazing people who have submitted (or are going to submit) their incredibly lovely Sims. Seeing them and reading their bios really makes me want to start - but I can't start with a half finished house... So please be patient, I'll get there, because I truly am excited about this project/adventure/challenge. I also intended to post a pre-challenge/teaser post like the two I did last week (or was it the week before?), but I've barely had time for that, let alone build. Hence the banner above this post and not an actual picture. And I'm already half an hour past my (self-imposed) weekday screentime curfew (although, today, I only used the computer for adulting before making this post).

Longer real life explanation under the cut (everything's fine, just busy).

Real life has all positive, yet somewhat (or a little more than somewhat) scary, developments. I've been in the process of building a new house the past few years. After going from plan A, to plan B, to plan C, we're currently at plan D. And well into it. We got the planning permit (is that what it's called? anyway, the piece of paper that says you're allowed to build and costs a small fortune) in Spring. And now, past the Summer holidays, stuff is really starting to happen. Which I sort of knew, so having to postpone the bachelor challenge is definitely a case of poor (or should I say reckless?) planning on my side.

So, last week we heard our temporary home, which is a (somewhat) moveable unit, would be coming today. Which meant re-arranging some (or maybe a lot of) fencing. Which took a lot of time and caused a lot of sore muscles. But, the unit is here. And not usable, because it's not connected to the utilities. And that might take another month or two... At least there will be plenty of time for sorting out stuff and downsizing. My entire childhood came down from the attic, so there's a lot of memories I still need to sort through. Which is fun, but also mentally exhausting.

In the meantime I have my incredibly boring job that drains all my energy. And because of that I have career coaching that also takes a lot of mental energy. I'm trying to find a way to balance things, and I think I'm making some tiny form of progress. The balance is still off, but not as much as before.

But overall, it's just a lot. Doing things like simming, or playing another game I really enjoy would really help. But there are only 24 hours in a day and I do need sleep.

In short, real life consists of more adulting than I'd like, lots of decision making, mentally draining things and spending investing large sums of money (which is scary). I really wish reality was more like the Sims. I just need to sell al my amateurish paintings, then pop in to build mode, build my dream home and return to live mode. So much easier!

[hughmunculus]

VHS 85 : oh boy

Hey we're back with another horror review for October! Sorry for the big gap, been working on launching my blog and also had business trips and all that mess. I've also been afflicted with a disease known as "everything costs so much money" so I've been unable to consume a lot of newer stuff lol. I was finally able to shell out a little money to renew my Shudder subscription so I can watch the second-newest installment in the horror anthology series I hate to love: VHS 85!

This movie is a return to form for the VHS films, if the form was "mostly bad with a couple gems hidden in the sludge". In this case, the gems were unfortunately just small bits of satisfying horror in otherwise unremarkable short films, because god forbid one of these were actually good start to finish.

Spoilers below the cut.

I never know when to talk about the frame story. Technically you see it first, but you usually don't get any payoff until the end. But in this case the payoff for the frame was so bad my wife was laughing at me because I had "my head cocked and eyebrow raised the entire time". So its good if you like nothingburgers that end extremely predictably, save for one small humorous bit at the end that makes you go "oh, haha!" A lot of people say that this one is the best of the bunch but one five second joke at the end of it actually doesn't save the thing from being boring and illogical (CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!)

Now we jump into what I think is actually the best of the bunch, No Wake. This one is shockingly grounded, giving you time to bond and get attached to the characters and even get invested into a burgeoning love story. It begins very predictably with teenagers breaking and entering where they shouldn't and starting their horny teen escapades, and then everything blows up in a horrible fashion (literally). The twist at the end of it didn't feel unearned, and opens itself up to a full film if you really wanted one.

God of Death lost me entirely. It starts decently with a once again grounded approach of a cameraman and rescue crew trying to survive an earthquake. I loved the pastiche of 80s Mexican TV that occurs right before the earthquake, and there's this real sadness seeing the havoc wreaked on the studio afterwards. The majority of this slots into that zone of "disaster action-thriller" of films like San Andreas or Poseidon, but you know, filmed on a shitty camera with no Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Unfortunately it falls into a trope that is uncommon in horror at large but WILDLY POPULAR in this series towards the very end.

What, an evil god did it the entire time? Daring today aren't we?

Next up we have our cringiest entry with (1) good scare (which is fine, since God of Death had 0) TKNOGD ! This one has a simple, terrible premise: what if spoken word/performance art piece invited in something evil and sinister. And what if, get this, it took TEN FUCKING MINUTES to get to that sinister part! Every part of this seems designed to make you hate the main character by how much she makes you cringe which honestly feels... shitty? I mean forget the long history of people making fun of stuff for "not being art" but the performer is a black woman we literally see get torn to pieces for the crime of... Being bad at performance art and hating technology. Its a yikes from me dog. Helmet reveal at the end though was really crazy though, that got me.

Ambrosia is... frustrating to me. Its an interesting concept that gets so fucking corny and its connective tissue to No Wake makes Ambrosia a little bit better and No Wake worse. It removes the mystery of "who attacked these kids and why?" and provides the worst possible answer. The mystery of No Wake makes it better, and the payoff of Ambrosia is just mad corny. Kinda funny though.

Dreamkill is exactly what you would think from the director of Black Phone. Initially spooky setup that completely falls on its fucking face. The actual kills are quite good, save for a completely inappropriate use of Hamburger Lady by Throbbing Gristle (never thought I'd say that but cmon, the murder victim wasn't even a woman!?). But then when the actual time comes to solve the murders it dumps a ton of exposition on you and suddenly the quality of the writing dramatically drops. The final confrontation between the murderer and Gunther actually had me laughing the writing was so bad.

So... That's the movie.

THE STANDINGS: No Wake >>> Ambrosia > TKNOGD > Dreamkill > God of Death

THE MOVIES RANKED: 94 > VHS 2 >VHS > 85 > Viral

Next up, VHS 99!

[clearwillow]

Sometimes self-care is telling yourself that it's okay to work towards goals you've had for years, a little bit at a time.

Long story short, I am terrible about investing in myself. When finances come into play, I hit the brakes so hard a student driver in the next town over thinks it's their teacher. A lot of it is because I've been having to cover the costs of repairs and replacing multiple appliances, in addition to medicine and doctor's visits. It's a real fear that we're screwed if I don't have the money to fix something if it breaks, so all of the things I was inspired to do last December haven't happened.

I needed some flat cards (well, one but it was more cost effective this way) for something and as I was poking about at the online calculator I thought "I could do a few sheets. It won't hurt" and I did and you can't imagine how much it helped. The print quality is so nice, and the stock really makes the colors pop. I even got doubles in my order of everything but the flat cards, which was a lovely surprise.

But this tiny thing didn't put me in the red. It didn't make the air conditioner I just replaced quit working. It's fine, and the prints I got yesterday were the kind of quality I've wanted for years but never thought I could afford. As dumb as it is, this tells me that it's okay to invest in myself from time to time. It's motivating because for years I've felt like I missed out, but I haven't. The opportunity just hadn't come around yet 💜

The best part, and this might be the most satisfying, is knowing that I am the one that has total control of this. No one telling me it's too much, or do a different design. No one trying to take it away from me.

[tahitiwoke]

i thought you were different.

in the residence, in the quiet, with her sat perched on the edge of a windowsill and leaning back out into the bitter d.c. air to blow a stream of smoke, he's struck by just how oddly unique his life has shaken out. he's met presidents, heads of state, otherworldly beings -- but he's never really been held in this kind of a circle. he's seen the extraordinary, yes, but there is something about witnessing the ordinary side of it all that has him particularly in some sort of way.

it's what makes him feel somewhat comfortable with broaching the topic that's been sitting a little too close to him lately; he does so hate politics. and he hates to play it with her. " tell me again why the public school funding riders got tossed out at appropriations? "

she looks at him then, over her shoulder, amused and not at the same time. there's a beat before she says i'd rather not talk shop, phillip. which does nothing more than make the goosebumps on his arm rise. (he's in his undershirt, the belt of his slacks loose, a scotch that he hasn't touched since she poured it.)

" school vouchers aren't enough, you know that. it's not going to do shit for the kids in the worst areas who, even if they did get picked up for college investment, can't afford to move anyway. what good is a kid from st louis getting selected for a spot in iowa? "

she just blows a stream out the window and tilts her head at something happening down on the courtyard.

he's not deterred. " by asking congress to approve not just a little but a lot more money for public state schools, we could --"

she interrupts him -- her tone final, resolute, borderline snotty and suddenly, the cute way he's always thought of her as his uptown girl dies quickly, a pinched balloon. public education has been a public policy disaster for forty years. we've spent four trillion dollars on public schools since the sixties and the result has been a steady and inexorable decline in every measurable standard of student performance, to say nothing of health and safety. she scoffs and it sounds rehearsed, dismissive, annoyed at a fly buzzing at her food. but don't worry about it, because the u.s. house of representatives is on the case. why, i feel better already. "

he sets his glass on the side. " please, don't talk to me like that. " and that she does look around for, an eyebrow raised. " don't talk to me like i've been doing your homework and you're about to get your football player boyfriend to shove me in a fucking locker. i know gun reform is your silver bullet, but education is everything -- claire, for christ sake, do you think i'd be sat here if school vouchers had been my only option? the house i grew up in cost about as much as your parents fucking pool. "

almost in an instant, he feels embarrassed by the outburst. almost makes to apologise and then doesn't. she watches him for a long time - long enough to finish the cigarette, long enough to stub it out and tuck a delicate finger behind the strap of her heel and let them drop to the floor below her. she tucks her legs under herself and sighs. i thought you were different.

[xixiandthecats]

Thread by @garius on Thread Reader App                            

One of the things I occasionally get paid to do by companies/execs is to tell them why everything seemed to SUDDENLY go wrong, and subs/readers dropped like a stone.

So, with everything going on at Twitter rn, time for a thread about the Trust Thermocline  /1

So: what's a thermocline?

Well large bodies of water are made of layers of differing temperatures. Like a layer cake. The top bit is where all the the waves happen and has a gradually decreasing temperature. Then SUDDENLY there's a point where it gets super-cold.

That suddenly is important. There's reasons for it (Science!) but it's just a good metaphor. Indeed you may also be interested in the "Thermocline of Truth" which a project management term for how things on a RAG board all suddenly go from amber to red.

But I digress.

The Trust Thermocline is something that, over (many) years of digital, I have seen both digital and regular content publishers hit time and time again. Despite warnings (at least when I've worked there). And it has a similar effect. You have lots of users then suddenly... nope.

And this does effect print publications as much as trendy digital media companies. They'll be flying along making loads of money, with lots of users/readers, rolling out new products that get bought. Or events. Or Sub-brands.

And then SUDDENLY those people just abandon them.

Often it's not even to "new" competitor products, but stuff they thought were already not a threat. Nor is there lots of obvious dissatisfaction reported from sales and marketing (other than general grumbling). Nor is it a general drift away, it's just a sudden big slide.

So why does this happen? As I explain to these people and places, it's because they breached the Trust Thermocline.

I ask them if they'd been increasing prices. Changed service offerings. Modified the product.

The answer is normally: "yes, but not much. And everyone still paid"

Then I ask if they did that the year before. Did they increase prices last year? Change the offering? Modify the product?

Again: "yes, but not much."

The answer is normally: "yes, but not much. And everyone still paid."

"And the year before?"

"Yes but not much. And everyone still paid."

Well, you get the idea.

And here is where the Trust Thermocline kicks in. Because too many people see service use as always following an arc. They think that as long as usage is ticking up, they can do what they like to cost and product.

And (critically) that they can just react when the curve flattens

But with a lot of CONTENT products (inc social media) that's not actually how it works. Because it doesn't account for sunk-cost lock-in.

Users and readers will stick to what they know, and use, well beyond the point where they START to lose trust in it. And you won't see that.

But they'll only MOVE when they hit the Trust Thermocline. The point where their lack of trust in the product to meet their needs, and the emotional investment they'd made in it, have finally been outweighed by the physical and emotional effort required to abandon it.

At this point, I normally get asked something like:

"So if we undo the last few changes and drop the price, we get them back?"

And then I have to break the news that nope: that's not how it works.

Because you're past the Thermocline now. You can't make them trust you again.

Classic examples of this behaviour are digital subscription services, where the product gets squeezed over time, or print magazines (particularly in B2B) that constantly ramp up their prices a little bit each year until it's too late.

Virtually the only way to avoid catastrophic drop-off from breaching the Trust Thermocline is NOT TO BREACH IT.

I can count on one hand the times I've witnessed a company come back from it. And even they never reached previous heights.

So what's the lesson for businesses here?

- Watch for grumbling and LISTEN to it. - Don't assume that because people have swallowed a price or service change that'll swallow another one. - Treat user trust as a finite asset. Because it is.

And I will admit this is one of the reasons I am (with sadness, because I've got a lot of value out of this place) watching Elon's current actions wrt Twitter with curious horror.

Because I've NEVER seen someone make such a deep dive for the Trust Thermocline, so quickly.

It's why I've got about 20 big accounts I'm watching on here to see when they personally feel he crosses that Thermocline and begin shifting their main effort and presence elsewhere.

Because that'll be the moment I suspect things will start changing very quickly. /END

ADDENDUM:

Been reminded of the time I was brought in to talk about this to a gaming company who I can't name.

The marketing manager got SUPER angry and was like:

"rubbish! we did lootboxing like this five years in a row and people kept paying!"

I'm:

"Mate. That's my point."

For those asking, I'm bet-hedging myself while I wait to see what happens. So you'll find me now on:

Mastodon: mastodon.social/@garius CounterSocial: counter.social/@garius CoHost: cohost.org/garius

(Although Mastodon is the only one I'm cross-posting to right now). 

Tumblr is doing death by a thousand cuts to itself, and it is so sad to see

the thing is this dashboard change isnt the end of the world ill get used to it whatever im just fucking dying of embarrassment that its supposed to look like twitter

[iwritefeelings]

27.06.2024

It's been more than two years since my last blog. I don't really come here often except when I needed an escape from reality. I can't say I enjoy going through my brain dump when I was five to ten years younger - it's an awkward phase; lots of cringe and no sense drama. But hey, this is my secret refuge! Why??? Maybe there's comfort in knowing that "this too shall pass" and that "things will get better." After all, what felt like carrying a big boulder then seems just carrying a stone in my pocket now.

Life hasn't been great lately, but it's not too bad either. It's just right. Nothing too grand to celebrate. But there are little moments of joy to still make you want to live. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I'm bored of the stability. I have a decent job that pays enough to get me through the next month and invest a little for the future. But am I hopeful for the future? I don't know. I question myself a lot lately, "what's next after I pay off my mortgage?" I said I wanted to retire by forty-five, and just take history, psychology, or art appreciation courses. But do I really want that?

When you stripped me off my job, I'm naked. It's hard to admit that I don't have life outside work. And it's not like I'm even great at work. I practically gave up the workaholic badge because it drained me like a lemon squeezed out of its juice. And with that gone, what's left of me?

I have a very loving and caring partner. We've been together for 14 or so years now. I'm not exaggerating when I say he's the best one could ever ask for. He's smart, kind, good looking, and a people person. But he's just too great! He does so well in almost everything. I'm proud of all that he's achieved and I'm sure there's much more in the future. But I wonder, is he ever proud of me?

I've been living abroad for 6+ years now. I don't come home often because flights are too expensive. There was a time I haven't been home in 3 years - mainly because of the pandemic but mostly because of money. I feel guilty for taking out-of-the-country trips but never home. But to my defense, my entire trip sometimes cost just a few bucks more than my flight home. And it's a new place! I love going home, but sometimes I feel like an outsider. I don't know where people kept things anymore. I have to watch and learn. I can't figure how to turn on the tv. I'm too shy to check the fridge when I get hungry at middle of the night. I've become a guest in my own home. Do they think of me as that too?

I don't have friends.

Five or ten years from now, I only hope I read this and laugh at myself just as how I laugh at my younger self now. The questions of today's what's next would be tomorrow's what's become. I don't feel excited, but we go with the flow. At least we're stable.

[pomegranate-cuties]

[Image description: Screenshot of a Twitter thread by John Bull (@garius) on November 3, 2022

One of the things occasionally get paid to do by companies/execs is to tell them why everything seemed to SUDDENLY go wrong, and subs/readers dropped like a stone. So, with everything going on at Twitter rn, time for a thread about the Trust Thermocline /1

So: what's a thermocline? Well large bodies of water are made of layers of differing temperatures. Like a layer cake. The top bit is where all the the waves happen and has a gradually decreasing temperature. Then SUDDENLY there's point where it gets super-cold.

That suddenly is important. There's reasons for it (Science!) but it's just a good metaphor. Indeed you may also be interested in the "Thermocline of Truth" which a project management term for how things on a RAG board all suddenly go from amber to red. But I digress.

The Trust Thermocline is something that, over (many) years of digital, I have seen both digital and regular content publishers hit time and time again. Despite warnings (at least when I've worked there). And it has a similar effect. You have lots of users then suddenly... nope.

And this does effect print publications as much as trendy digital media companies. They'll be flying along making loads of money, with lots of users/readers, rolling out new products that get bought. Or events. Or Sub-brands. And then SUDDENLY those people just abandon them.

Often it's not even to "new" competitor products, but stuff they thought were already not a threat. Nor is there lots of obvious dissatisfaction reported from sales and marketing (other than general grumbling). Nor is it a general drift away, it's just a sudden big slide.

So why does this happen? As I explain to these people and places, it's because they breached the Trust Thermocline. l ask them if they'd been increasing prices. Changed service offerings. Modified the product. The answer is normally: "yes, but not much. And everyone still paid"

Then I ask if they did that the year before. Did they increase prices last year? Change the offering? Modify the product? Again: "yes, but not much." The answer is normally: "yes, but not much. And everyone still paid."

"And the year before?" "Yes but not much. And everyone still paid." Well, you get the idea.

And here is where the Trust Thermocline kicks in. Because too many people see service use as always following an arc. They think that as long as usage is ticking up, they can do what they like to cost and product. And (critically) that they can just react when the curve flattens

But with a lot of CONTENT products (inc social media) that's not actually how it works. Because it doesn't account for sunk-cost lock-in. Users and readers will stick to what they know, and use, well beyond the point where they START to lose trust in it. And you won't see that.

But they'll only MOVE when they hit the Trust Thermocline. The point where their lack of trust in the product to meet their needs, and the emotional investment they'd made in it, have finally been outweighed by the physical and emotional effort required to abandon it.

At this point, I normally get asked something like: "So if we undo the last few changes and drop the price, we get them back?" And then I have to break the news that nope: that's not how it works. Because you're past the Thermocline now. You can't make them trust you again.

Classic examples of this behaviour are digital subscription services, where the product gets squeezed over time, or print magazines (particularly in B2B) that constantly ramp up their prices a little bit each year until it's too late.

Virtually the only way to avoid catastrophic drop-off from breaching the Trust Thermocline is NOT TO BREACH IT. I can count on one hand the times I've witnessed a company come back from it. And even they never reached previous heights.

So what's the lesson for businesses here? - Watch for grumbling and LISTEN to it. - Don't assume that because people have swallowed a price or service change that'll swallow another one. - Treat user trust as a finite asset. Because it is.

And I will admit this is one of the reasons I am (with sadness, because I've got a lot of value out of this place) watching Elon's current actions wrt Twitter with curious horror. Because l've NEVER seen someone make such a deep dive for the Trust Thermocline, so quickly.

It's why I've got about 20 big accounts I'm watching on here to see when they personally feel he crosses that Thermocline and begin shifting their main effort and presence elsewhere. Because that'll be the moment I suspect things will start changing very quickly. /END

ADDENDUM: Been reminded of the time was brought in to talk about this to a gaming company who I can't name. The marketing manager got SUPER angry and was like: "rubbish! we did lootboxing like this five years in a row and people kept paying!" I'm: "Mate. That's my point!"

End description.]

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.

[leftpuppyfestival]

A Trip Back in Time: How People Talked About replica handbags 20 Years Ago

I am positive many of us have heard about bogus baggage, and in many cases purchased them in advance of.​ Bogus luggage are a tremendous trouble in today's style world.​ These are built to glance just like designer bags so It can be difficult to tell that is which.​ It truly is such a bummer that individuals would even stoop so minimal and create these faux baggage, which not only are a rip off to designer brand names but will also, are minimal top quality.​

Once i observed my friend having a designer-hunting bag, I was so envious and wished to get one myself.​ Until eventually I discovered that it absolutely was a pretend, and I Just about fainted! I had been so mad, knowing that she experienced likely been jipped of her money.​ To make issues even worse, the bag wasn't even effectively-manufactured nor did it glance pretty much as good as the real point.​ A handful of days later on the strap broke and that is when she realized it had been a fake designer bags pretend!

The worst portion was that the bag had cost her lots of money.​ It wasn't affordable, still the standard was terrrible.​ It had been painful to view a colleague working experience this type of loss.​ I signify, who truly Gains from these bogus bags? Certainly no one.​ And It can be not only the large names that faux luggage hurt, but additionally little corporations who craft authentic luggage and also have to compete with faux luggage.​

I've encounter lots of folks that obtain these fake baggage mainly because they Feel they're able to just 'get away with it'.​ They could get absent with it for some time, but it's a make any difference of your time in advance of they recognize the true expense of a phony bag.​ It's a squander of money and time.​ As well as, the morality concern.​ It's normal expertise that purchasing phony bags is prohibited, and still persons hold acquiring them, Irrespective.​

Having said that, in case you find yourself in the need for a designer-searching bag, you will discover options like 'classic outlets' and even branded outlet shops.​ These shops have astounding bags which will appear fantastic and past longer than an everyday bogus bag.​ Not surprisingly, it'll Price a lot more than a fake, but quality in no way will come affordable.​

Let alone, the phony bags never commonly Show the vintage attributes that authentic bags do.​ Particulars like components, lining content, stitching, stamp of authenticity and more, are missing in bogus baggage.​ On the other hand, the original designer baggage have an additional standard of sophistication which the bogus bags, Unfortunately, never have.​

Another concern with these bogus luggage is that they're often manufactured with counterfeit products like leather, which aren't only unhealthy but also degrade conveniently.​ They do not previous extensive and break aside, which, in turn, affects the quality of the bag.​

Furthermore, faux bags generally lack legal warranties that include legitimate brand names.​ Which means, even should they harm accidentally, you may by no means get it mounted with the help of your designer's label.​ That is why It really is far better to pay somewhat more than have a bag that can certainly stop working.​

Lastly, the scent of faux baggage is nearly always plenty of to spot them from the real deal.​ Bogus baggage have an uncomfortable oder to them due to fakes resources they are designed with.​ This is exactly why it is important to examine the scent from the bag when producing a obtain, to you should definitely're not remaining tricked.​

I recall investing in my laptop computer for The cash needed to acquire my first duplicate bag.​ I couldn’t think that this desire of having a designer handbag was ultimately close by.​ And when it arrived, I felt like I was in heaven! It experienced everything - attractive leather-based, a delicate strap and also a brilliant lining that matched the color of my costume.​ I felt like a celeb.​

It had been the best dimension for my on-the-go Life-style.​ Anytime I was out and about, I could conveniently slip it over my arm, carry all my Necessities, and still glimpse elegant.​ I could also fit in all my knick-knacks and even more which made it an ideal companion for weekend visits and obtaining all-around city.​

The best part of possessing a duplicate bag was that it was a lot more reasonably priced than the usual designer brand.​ Don’t get me wrong…I even now like designer brand names, but the worth tag just doesn’t usually fit in my budget.​ With replica luggage, I was capable of help you save a ton of money and nevertheless get a fantastic on the lookout bag.​

Irrespective of every one of the wonderful attributes of a replica bag, there was a single down side - the sturdiness.​ I predicted the bag to final me for awhile, but right after about six months of utilizing it, the fabric began to break down.​ The bag just didn’t delay in sure weather conditions.​ This wasn’t a giant offer for me as I just replaced the bag with a newer 1, but this might be truly worth taking into consideration for people seeking a a lot more long-lasting accessory.​

The bottom line is, for those who’re looking for a trendy and affordable bag that’ll assist you look put-together, a duplicate bag is a great way to go.​ From my practical experience, I can claim that it’s absolutely well worth the dollars you’ll be paying out.​

I've also employed a variety of other replicas - which include a Kate Spade impressed duplicate.​ I thought this was a particularly excellent obtain as it gave me the texture of a designer bag with out breaking the bank.​ I acquired many compliments for it, and it felt like it absolutely was just the appropriate dimensions.​ What's more, it experienced more than enough element to really make it glance very exclusive.​

I've also experimented with a Gucci inspired duplicate that was comprised of substantial-excellent components and a far more intricate design and style.​ It absolutely was Completely stunning, even so, the detail was a tiny bit too much and I felt like it absolutely was also extravagant for every day don.​ I'd personally ordinarily reserve it for Specific events or nights out.​

A further wonderful duplicate I tried out was a Michael Kors inspired bag.​ This was a little something I arrived at for When I required to search classy although not overly dressy.​ It was ideal for Distinctive events, nevertheless nevertheless relaxed with its minimalistic style and design.​ I did locate the straps somewhat short for me, but absolutely nothing too bothersome.​

My working experience with replica baggage continues to be good In general.​ I discover them to generally be a terrific way to get designer appears to be without having sacrificing a ton of cash.​ I like which i get to specific my personal fashion by the selection of reproduction baggage I very own.​ Once in a while I like to interchange them for anything different, as they usually very last me about six months before breaking down.​

Nevertheless, I do understand that not Everybody feels the same way about replica baggage.​ Some people think that they’re not worth the dollars, and that designer bags are outstanding regarding good quality and magnificence.​ I am able to surely respect that impression.​ What I do know is always that, for me, duplicate luggage have already been an unbelievable strategy to take a look at a range of kinds without breaking the lender.​

The ethical in the Tale is the fact It is basically not worthwhile acquiring pretend bags.​ You will discover a lot of pitfalls concerned and the standard will likely be not worthwhile.​ The original high-quality designer baggage have colonial insurance policy, warranties, excellent design and in addition greater materials.​ Shelling out somewhat further will promise you the quality and gratification of owning a real bag.​ Moreover, It can be unlawful, and versus the moral code.​ You should not be fooled into purchasing a phony!

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Babe Wake Up New Trailer Dropped

Some baseline thoughts:

It's interesting to me as a storyteller that they've been so direct and open about taking their foot off the gas. Where WoW has suffered in recent expansions from having each world-ending threat be world-endier than the last and then, upon dying, choke out, "But I was doing it to protect the universe from an even greater threat, available in the next expansion bluggggh-" FFXIV recognized that saving all life in the universe from an avatar of ultimate despair qualifies as a peak, and in order to have something that feels like a peak again we've got to spend a little time coming back down. So...VACATION EPISODE!

No sign yet of a new job. The Warrior of Light in the trailer wields a rapier, which has been the Red Mage weapon up to now, but also doesn't cast anything. So maybe people's theories of a Corsair class will bear out. It'd certainly fit with the Adventure on the High Seas vibe.

Typically these expansions have involved 2 new jobs, but there's also been some discussion about how that's just unsustainable. Between using up the design space, and just the raw hours of having to produce the new stuff for the next ten levels for every class that exists when you up the level cap...something's gotta give.

But also...there's got to be a leveling process, right? From a design perspective I honestly wonder. It feels like there's the part where you're meeting audience expectation, which is certainly important, but the cost is growing and return on that investment is diminishing. In some ways it feels like after a first run the leveling process is just something that's in there because it's always been in there. I've found that I always appreciated games' attempts to alter that paradigm, from Warframe or Monster Hunter statting out by slapping a lot of cool gear together with internal synergy, to Guild Wars 1's system where you level to 20 almost immediately and then the level caps at 20 and everything else is about gathering interesting ultimate skills with a pokemon-meets-blue-mage style "grab the spell off the monster with a Skill Rune" system, and making clever party compositions. I dunno. Personally I feel like I'd be just fine if they decided to cap the level at 90, but I think enough other people would get up in arms about it that safe money says they'll raise it to 100. Maybe 99 if they're feeling cheeky and want to nostalgia-bait. I expect if they were going to make a change that big they'd be doing damage control on that messaging already, a full year before the release.

[clinicallyinvisible]

I feel so miserable in my relationship, yet I am unable to leave it because of cost of living. I'm so sad. I'm sad and I'm angry and I'm alone. It's not like I can get help from my family. I don't speak to them. I have nobody I can ask for money from, to help me move out of here.

All I need is like 3k for a downpayment on a house trailer for sale a couple towns over, still close enough I can keep my job. And I could afford the mortgage payments, it would be cheaper than where I am right now. But I can't save money. I'm constantly having to spend it on things I need. And my partner never helps me with those things. He only covers our rent and hydro. I pay for everything else, which is a lot these days.

I need to buy ramps for my one dog because he injured his knee and he can't do stairs or jump off the couch anymore. That'll run me like $350 ish for some ramps off amazon. I wanna ask my partner to pay for them, but I know he's just gonna bitch about it.

I just had to drop some money on computer parts because my computer is being weird. And I don't even know for sure if it'll fix it. So I may have to spend more. I'm sure my partner is peeved about it. I know he's mad I bought myself a new camera and a paddleboard this year. But I'd been waiting to upgrade my camera for a decade and I figured if I don't just do it now I might never. And the paddleboard is for me and my dog to have fun this summer. But his relationship with money is so toxic. He never spends it on anything fun or enjoyable or literally anything that won't make him more money. He only buys things as investments. He never buys things just so he can have something. He did buy himself a laptop this year, which honestly surprised me. I didn't think he would. But it was less as a fun thing and much more because he needs a computer for work stuff and doesn't want to use mine.

He's so angry all the time. Over every little thing. There is no calming him down. There is no state of calm. It's just always anger. Unless we are with other people.

We went to hang out with some friends this afternoon and the entire time before we left he was freaking out over what to wear because he only has 1 pair of shorts and he wore them last time we hung out with them and also he doesn't like the way his crotch looks in them, he feels self conscious. Then we had a lovely time with friends, but even in the vehicle on the way home he was winding himself up because he was gonna go dig an engine out of the bush and it looked like it was gonna rain so he was mad about that and then he was mad about all the shoes by the door (his were the ones that were in the way).

I find myself looking forward to when he leaves to go do other things and I get to be home alone. It's the only time I get to relax and feel calm because the rest of the time he's raging over something. And idk what to do anymore. I've told him this is an issue. I've told him how it makes me feel, but it doesn't change.

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] In this video I'm gonna show you ten websites that you can make $100 per day in 2019 and you don't need any special skills and I'm gonna throw in one extra one if you don't like online and you want to do it around you that one will Be in there too so stay tuned a Thomas Garrett's here thanks for tuning in some just happen right into my computer on this one but before we get started what I do on this channel it's everything affiliate marketing and make money online so if this kind of content you Like hit that subscribe button and make sure you hit that notification bell - so you get notified every time I upload now the first - I'm gonna combined as just number 10 for both of them because they're kind of the same so it's Clickbank and jvzoo okay so I got them Both open here so their affiliate networks and they're pretty much just digital products you can find some physical products but really not many I've honestly never seen any but they do say that they have some physical products and how it works is you do affiliate marketing and affiliate Marketing is where you promote products that aren't yours and you get a commission when someone purchases through your affiliate link okay so that's one way and just to throw in another example Amazon Associates that's not on the list but Amazon has the biggest affiliate network in the world So just so you know that affiliate marketing isn't like a scam or anything this is a legitimate business model okay I just wanted to throw that in there so the next one for number 9 is swag bucks okay so this is where you can do different types of surveys or you can Shop and earn okay so this one obviously cost a little bit of money to do which is fine so it's money you're gonna be spending anyways so this is a super cool website I actually use it and they have tons of brands on here that you definitely shop at I mean Target eBay Amazon like it's just free money so that's number nine number eight is Flippa okay and flip was awesome if you don't have a website and you just want to get like an already created website that's already making money you can go on here and you can actually buy Websites that are currently making money obviously there's some that are gonna be more expensive right like a hundred thousand dollars but you click on it and you can see in here that annual revenue is a hundred sixty four thousand so if you've got money look asking price fifty Thousand so if you have money this could be a very good investment for you okay so that's number eight so for number seven this is actually the the bonus one that you can actually make money around you and it's definitely a website you've heard of and number seven Is Craigslist okay so if you've been on Craigslist before you probably ignored the jobs part right but you can find jobs near you right and you can even find jobs online there's a lot of ways to make money with Craigslist and this is just an amazing website you know of Craigslist so this is just another added option where you can just go out and do work or you can find stuff for free on Craigslist and go sell it tons of ways to make money with Craigslist so that's number seven now number six is actually one of my favorite and I mentioned this Website before but I didn't mention this part of the website so for number six we have Kindle direct publishing so this is where you can make like an e-book and publish it on here and sell it and make money right so if you're like oh I don't Really know how to do that you're gonna have to hire someone to make one for you now I have two sites it's gonna be number five and number four I'm going to show you number five first because I personally have used it a little more so number five we have fiber and look Swagbucks pops up see I told you I use it so fiber you can see I have messages and stuff I use fiber because it's a place where you can get freelancers for very cheap but on the other side of that you can also use it to make money

By being the freelancer right so if you have a skill you can go put yourself on here and it takes a little bit of time to get known because you have to get feedback and that's what it goes off like reviews and stuff like that but you Can go on Fiverr and write ebook right so look I will create your captivating ebook or ebook cover right so it's super simple to find that and then you could go put it on Kindle direct publishing and make money and that's passive income because once it's on there you only have To make it once and you can sell it time and time again because it's a digital product right so this is number five and the number four is basically the same thing and number four if you haven't heard of it it's up work and upwork.com is great you have to really know what You're doing on here because you can find a lot of people on here who are just applying to every job and they're not really looking at it and they're not gonna work that hard you really got a weed out the people you can do this a couple different ways by like asking for Certain things in your like I want a video message or I want you to type this word to me to make sure they actually read your whole description right so upwork.com is another place where you can be a freelancer and you can make money online Very very easy and just so you know this hundred dollar a day the reason I made that as the title is because that's what people are searching in on YouTube you can make much more than a hundred dollars a day with any of these websites guaranteed so number three is kind of Like the last two which I think these are great ways to get started and the reason why I have them so high up on the list is because there's a lot of people probably you included who are looking to make money online but they don't have any money Right they don't have any budget you may not have any budget so you're looking for ways to make money online with zero money so these are all very good ways to do that and the next one is another good way to do that okay so this one is text Broker and this is where you can write content as a freelancer so this is another great way to make money online if you have no money at all and you have a skill that you can use to make money so unfortunately there's no magic pill that you can take and just get rich Overnight online right I hope you understand that if you don't it's gonna be a tough pill to swallow I was there I thought it was super easy to make money online when I first started it's not you got to work but this is a great way to Get started and to grow your dream on top of it right so this is a great way to be able to work from home and do your freelancing but work in your spare time on growing your business right so it's another great way and that's why it's so High up on the list and the next one is actually very good the more Skills you start getting this next one is great so for number two I have you to me and no one seems to mention this one on all the videos on YouTube no one talks about you To me and it's such a great place because once you get some skills if you're doing freelance or whatever right you're gonna get these skills and there's people out there who want to learn these skills so what you could do is record a video of yourself just like you're watching right now you're Watching a video about how to do something you can make a course record it one time do the work one time put it on you to me and sell it time and time again right so that's passive income you can make much more money doing that Because it sells over and over and over again right you just do the work one time passive income okay remember that so that's number two and I'm gonna go with one and a half because I have one bonus one for you so one and a half is gonna be what You're watching right now I didn't add it because I don't know a lot of people think it's so difficult to make videos and make a YouTube channel and grow a YouTube

channel and it's not easy I'm gonna be honest with you it's not but it's gonna pay you time and time again Okay and all you have to do is not give up it may sound easy but it's not it's simple but it's not easy okay and all you got to do is be consistent upload videos pick a niche and you can do it too I promise you so number one is my All-time number one recommendation to make money online drumroll please and that is legendary marketer okay this is by far the one thing that changed everything for me and I only discovered it a couple months ago right and I didn't get into it until up until recently but going through the Training it changed everything and there's a lot of bad rep online about this and I don't know why because either you're gonna find people who are promoting it and say it's the best thing are people who hate it but promote something else right so for someone who Got into it recently and has completely unbiased review of it it is completely game-changing especially if you're new to the game right so I'm a little more advanced right I'm not gonna say I'm a professional I've been doing this for years right but I know what I'm doing Okay and I understand things but for someone who is brand new and even for me the training on here is top-notch there is nothing in the market anywhere near this and that's 100% truth okay and once again this isn't completely free but they have revamped the whole website Where it's so simple to get involved and I'll have a link below to get into it but this is the 15 day challenge okay this just breaks down and rebuilds your entire mindset teaches you how to make a business from start to finish and then also the thing that I really truly love Is the marketers Club and this is only $30 a month and they show live classes every week and it's just insane they have all these interviews with Kevin Harrington from shark tank Nathan Lucas from YouTube right freedom influencer mark harbert and then they have the journey to 250,000 subscribers with Nathan Lucas and then they have all this stuff look 12 videos 149 minutes for videos 42 minutes six videos 66 minutes nine videos 84 minutes this stuff is insane and David Sharpe me and him relate a lot right he went through heroin addiction I went through heroin Addiction and when you go through stuff like that you truly see the world from a different angle right and I haven't really talked about this stuff on my youtube channel much but I'm not just saying this to try and sell you right I truly believe that this could change Your life and make you see the other side right it's all about mindset it truly is so I really hope you enjoyed these websites but even if this is the only one you choose and this is the one I suggest you can change your life guarantee it's gonna be the First link in the description my number one recommendation and I'm not gonna tell you that it's easy just like I said before nothing's easy online there's no easy way to make money in life right but this if you work it it will reward you so much more than any job or freelancing Or anything like that I promise you so if you're ready to work and you're ready to make some money this is the number one recommendation hundred percent so again first link in description and if you want to learn more about affiliate marketing make money online you can watch these videos Right here but just make sure to press my face right here so you can subscribe to the channel to see more videos just like this one and if you really liked it give me a like and that's all I got I'll catch you next week [ad_2] #Websites #Day #Perfect #Beginners For More Interesting Article Visit : https://mycyberbase.com/

[winterandwords]

Tipping and Ad-free Tumblr (and Post+ a little bit)

I just noticed, totally by accident, that Tumblr has introduced tipping. It's only for people in the USA for now (as in, only people in the USA can enable it on their blogs), but I love this as a thing?!

Subscribing to lots of individual creators' content in an ongoing way, like with Patreon, isn't a realistic option for me but I do love being able to pay people for making stuff I enjoy if they don't have a thing for actual sale that I can buy.

I also really like the idea of being able to enable tips (Tumblr, please make this available elsewhere) because I don't want to sell books, short stories etc but it would be awesome for people to be able to contribute something if they want to and are able to. This is how I'm planning to publish my work on my own website and being able to do it on other sites would be epic!

Also, the ad-free subscription. I know this is probably very unpopular-opinion of me, but I'm all for that. Websites, especially big ones, cost an absolute fuckload to run. I used to work for a very large creative platform and it blew my mind that people got legit ANGRY, as if they were being horribly exploited, about having the option between paying for a subscription or seeing some ads and using the site and all its services for free.

Yes, it would be beautiful if everything in the world could be free. Yes, it fucking SUCKS not having enough money to pay for things (not going to get all life story on you, but I promise I am very familiar with that experience on a pretty catastrophic level). But paid subscription or free-with-ads is a very normal internet thing and $4.99 per month/$39.99 per year is not an unusual amount to charge for a sub to a website you use all the time.

That last bit. The all the time bit. If you can't afford to pay for no ads, or you aren't bothered about ads, or you feel very strongly about not paying for websites you use for whatever reason, this isn't for you. If you can afford to pay for no ads, you are bothered by ads, and you're ok with paying for stuff and/or actively want to support things you get a kick out of on the daily, it's not a terrible idea to be able to do that if you choose to.

Same with tipping. And Post+ actually, although I know very little about it. If you can't afford to engage with those things or don't want to, fair enough. Cool. You do you. The option is absolutely there to simply not.

But seeing people complain about subscription formats existing at all blows my mind. While we live in a world where it costs money for services to exist (yes, a website to share your creative work and consume other people's, or even just where you share and enjoy memes and fun stuff, is a service) and where individual people need money to live, having options for people who can afford to contribute to do that is surely a good thing.

I fully get that not everyone is going to agree with me here. Maybe this is partly an age thing? I don't know. I'm old as shit - 41, which is pretty much a reanimated corpse in Tumblr years (and I've been here under different usernames since Tumblr started, so I'm not a new person Having An Opinion without understanding).

Maybe it's also about being deeply invested in people being able to explore options for making money through creativity outside of a limited range of societally imposed structures of labour. I'm chronically ill and disabled (which I never talk about here, but hi, here it is), and while I can absolutely do things, I am literally unable to perform to the required level within those existing external structures of labour (which I know, because I did it for years out of necessity and it's kind of miraculous I'm still breathing tbh).

There's a massive difference between being able to do things and being able to do specific things within externally set boundaries, with externally set requirements, and with the consistency and reliability necessary to earn a regular income from employers, clients and customers. OK, tangenting. Back on track.

I'm not saying everything should be one particular way because it suits me. I'm saying let there be options, even if they're not your ideal options. Open up new possibilities. Open up ALL the possibilities. Let people do beautiful chaotic creative things outside of highly gatekept systems where those things wouldn't be accepted and still thrive. Let these options exist and evolve. Let them have fully-featured, active, well-funded platforms to exist and evolve that don't vanish overnight because there wasn't enough money.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.