#how to migrate subscription platforms

[anbuselvi1]

11 Best Platforms To Sell Subscriptions (2023 Edition)

11 Best Platforms To Sell Subscriptions (2023 Edition)

Looking for the best platform to sell subscriptions? You’re in the right place. The great thing about selling subscriptions is that you can bill your customers again and again, providing you with a predictable monthly revenue stream. But selling subscriptions and memberships isn’t like selling other types of physical and digital products—it requires a special type of ecommerce platform. At a…

[friendofthecrows]

You know when you're trying to music away the depression but then you're stuck with 5 adds in a row bc the pirate spotify premium breaks ur phone eventually

[decepti-thots]

i can see people discussing cohost as a possible tumblr alternative in the event the current shitshow continues to escalate, and as someone who lurks on cohost (lotta good game writer/crit folks went over there instead of bluesky after twitter tanked!) and has kept a keen eye on it since it began, i just want to offer some brief thoughts. not as a value judgement, just so people have a decent idea of what cohost actually like... is, and what pros and cons it has.

cohost is a tumblr-like experience which uses a very similar microblogging-and-reblog/share set-up, though it's a lot more 'static' than current tumblr is without e.g endless scroll on everything and scripts everywhere. (reminds me a lot of how tumblr was in 2010, tbh.) it has some things tumblr lacks (notably, its comment feature is much better) and lacks some things tumblr has.

it is run by a very small number of people. this is currently fine in terms of things like moderation, because cohost has a small userbase and has not attracted a general audience, but rather, mostly chill people in certain niches. however, in the event it has any kind of scaling-up of its userbase, they would need to drastically increase their moderation footprint, because right now it is skeleton.

related to that, being an ad-free site that is not funded by venture capital, their financials are... not amazingly stable tbqh! they have been very transparent about this quarter to quarter. they were bleeding money profusely until very recently. now, it has juuust about stabilized, though it is not "profitable" per se. cohost is a site that runs on a similar idea to dreamwidth; it strives to be a decently-sized site where a good chunk of its adult userbase voluntarily pay for monthly subscriptions to keep the site going, more out of a desire to support an independent platform than due to large feature bonuses that come from doing so (though there are additional features. small ones.). it is not, in short, a site designed to be used for free by 99% of its userbase like most social media; if any large migration took place to cohost by fandom, this would realistically only work for cohost if a decent chunk of us decided we would like to send them money each month to keep it going. (this can work; dreamwidth does it, and its skewing-older userbase does so. generally not at huge scale though.)

cohost is anti-metrics to a point that it is simply not a good choice for some people who are looking to use it as a way to grow a professional platform, because you functionally have no 'platform'. (great for folks like me; bad for folks using it as a freelance portfolio kinda gig, really.) it's much more a personal blogging site than a 'here is my Profile i use to get work!' deal tbh. (this is, to be fair, also kind of a reason tumblr has never been that great for this, but it's just sort of something artists etc have been observing.)

cohost is an interesting ongoing experiment, but one reason i have not moved there is it's currently in a very tenuous position. as a platform for specific fandoms forming up there, i think it's really promising, which is why i've kept my eye on it, but i think it's important to know it's not just a 1:1 tumblr replacement. no non-shitty platform is. as i said on my other blog talking about cohost yesterday, if you want an ad-free, algorithm free, no data-selling, no venture capital platform... you want a platform that requires people pay in at least decent quantities, which means you likely have a platform that will never match the scale of big centralized socmedia platforms which do exist as ad platforms backed by millions of dollars of investment.

[bones-partys]

I understand why they are doing this. I understand their want to not be beholden to advertisers. I understand feeling that they've hit a ceiling on their growth on youtube.

But

A vast majority of viewers wont be moving for monetary reasons, for dislike of the streaming platform method, for xyz.

So

Will their growth not stagnate on a separate website?

I find alot of the content i watch on youtube from recommended videos, its how i found unsolved! You wont have that natural migration on a separate website. Once everyone whos interested gets a subscription it will stagnate after that.

I saw someone bring up rooster teeth and i cant help but compare the 2. I was a big fan of camp camp when if first came out, but when s2 was only on their website (wich was very unusable on mobile the only thing i had) i couldnt watch a very loved show! They say they will post the premiere episode on youtube but as a long time viewer, and some one who has been scorned by shows getting canceled*, i wont even watch the premiere of the seasons.

I think it will be profitable at frist but stagnate as everyone who wants to migrate will have already done so.

*not that i think they would cancel a show but id rather not get invested in another professor story line and then not be able to see where it goes, like a story driven show getting canceled at a clif hanger

[camgirlsurvivalguide]

Too Little, and perhaps Too Late: The short-comings of MFC as a platform

I know how sick and fucking tired I am of hearing this exact phrase but I will reiterate because it’s important: we’re living through rough times. The pandemic coincided with a massive shift for digital SW, from a realm that was largely live stream (which in a lot of ways was very much booming then) to a content creation platform that by and large took the entire world - SW and vanilla - by storm.

MFC is not a household name. It never has been. The average person doesn’t know what MFC is, and even the average porn consumer likely just thinks of it as one of the sites that pop up as an ad here and there while browsing other sites. Even in the “hayday” (which I’d argue was probably between 2014 and 2018), the pool of people in the know was small, especially in comparison to how prolific OnlyFans has become in broader (vanilla) society.

When established camgirls moved to OnlyFans in the wake of declining traffic and declining mental capacity for live streaming, especially those of us who were five or more years into constantly grinding, we created the foundation for the platform that quickly attracted non-SW to the site as soon as the pandemic occurred. The timing was the perfect storm. With an interface identical to Instagram, it was familiar even to the most vanilla or casual of audiences. With the concurrent rise of subscription-based payment modalities, people felt as comfortable clicking “subscribe” to a $5 a month page as they did with signing up for Netflix.

MFC has not had the same luck. Yes, strategic interface choices and payment structures were conscious decisions on OnlyFans’ part, but I cannot stress enough how heavily luck played into the explosion of OnlyFans as a platform. As much as what I’m about to say (eventually, after I’m finished my characteristic long winded ramble*) may be counter to this point, OnlyFans also inevitably did draw a significant portion of MFC users away from the platform and toward OnlyFans instead. Cheaper (sometimes), faster, easier to use, more transparent. The “tokens” thing was and still is an interesting concept** (again, I’ll get into this in a second), but seeing an obvious dollar amount to subscribe with and clearly defined dollar amounts to spend on individual creators pages themselves cleared any ambiguity about spending for the consumer. For better or for worse, OnlyFans is a SW-consumer platform for consumer dummies. It simplified everything a casual user was looking for out of a digital SWer, and then grew from there.

This is not to say live streaming is dead. Live streaming is bigger than it EVER has been before - but this also means MFC has even more competition now than it ever had in the past. We were the first live streamers the internet had, and for a while, the only live streamers the internet had. We were here before Instagram live, YouTube live, TikTok live, hell we were here when Twitch was justin.tv and even then, the average person had no idea justin.tv even existed.  reference notes for internet history nerds: MFC was founded in 2004, justin.tv (which later became Twitch) was founded in 2007. By 2010, MFC was considered the largest adult live streaming platform on the internet (which also means on the internet itself, since ... others didn’t ... exist yet). Justin.tv was initially a free for all live streaming platform, but after developing a successful gaming section, it moved its gaming component to a site called Twitch in June of 2011 - later dissolving justin.tv and solely becoming Twitch in 2014, which was then quickly acquired by Amazon that same year. Tl;dr - MFC was first, and it was king. 

*re: users migrating to OnlyFans: many of my biggest contributors on MFC did not move to OnlyFans strictly because their interest is live streaming, not content creation. Over the past year that I’ve been on Twitch, I’ve seen the return of many old names that remember me from MFC but simply haven’t seen me since, because they don’t like OnlyFans. Live stream consumers are still live stream consumers - it’s not as cut and dry as “OF stole all our people!”.

**re: tokens instead of dollar amount: Twitch uses this in the form of bits. It is still a strategy that works on other live streaming platforms - so I’m not necessarily saying that MFC using the token modality is a poor choice, but I am stressing that during a time where people are keeping their wallets closer to their chests, precise understanding of how much something costs may be more important to users now than it was before.

Alright kids, history lesson concluded. Now you know. Back to the topic at hand.

MFC consumers are unique - but in their uniqueness, I personally feel that the user base that was once largely exclusive to MFC now have options to have both of their primary needs met on other competing sites. Consumers on MFC are looking for two things: personal connection and sexual gratification. For some, having both needs met simultaneously is necessary - but for many others, dividing and conquering is likely a cheaper and higher quality strategy. A user who wants to get off will go to places that are cheaper or have more immediate access (aka OnlyFans), and that same user who wants to feel a sense of community or comfort from a live streamer can go to Twitch to have those needs met over there. 

Even for the most dedicated MFC users, the history of site culture, for better or for worse, has likely impacted overall satisfaction for using MFC itself. There is massive pressure on dedicated MFC users - those with recognized usernames, at least - to provide their performer with tokens often on an hourly basis, and sometimes, depending on their reputation, the expectation is to spend a lot an hour. There is little in the way of anonymity for a user. The second they enter a room, their name pops up in the viewer list, and model expectations immediately kick in. Some of us even lurk other models rooms from separate member accounts or as guests to see members we consider “our tippers” (for better or for worse) and feel a massive sense of loss or disappointment if other camgirls are being tipped by “our tippers” more than they tip us. 

In so many ways, expectation is the thief of joy, and this is playing a role on both sides of the MFC experience: for camgirls and their audiences. We need expectations about tipping because for many of us, it’s our sole or primary form of livelihood. When our goals aren’t met, our morale sinks. When our morale is low, we have less in our cup to pour from, impacting not only our own enjoyment of our jobs, but the experience of our viewers as well. Thus, the downward spiral.

Aside from literally forcing ourselves to keep on smiling and shaking ass, much of the issues experienced are in the hands of the MFC platform itself. Since the same team had no problem copying Instagram for their interface, having MFC improve their homepage in a Twitch-esque way even if only slightly could help new users (particularly those familiar with Twitch) feel more familiar on MFC. Main page integration of MFC Share visibility would work wonders for our video stores. The bare minimum would be consulting models themselves about site functionality and interface - an open forum of any sort for MFC developers to receive feedback is a pipe dream of course, but at this point, the state of things does call for drastic measures.

Very little of this is actively helpful for you as an MFC streamer right now, during a time crisis more or less, so I’ll hop off the lecture podium and begin the workshop component. Thank you for your patience. I will never, ever stop being wordy, so if you’ve made it this far, congratulations - you’re just as big of a nerd as I am.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do?”

- Forget everything you knew about what you used to earn on MFC; focus on the future, not the past. Re-frame your tokens per hour goals, or throw them out the window entirely, because they’re not likely to serve you well right now if you’re already struggling. Create a stream schedule and stick to it. Focus on hours streamed, not tokens made. Hope for the best.

- Up your quality as well as your content production. Lean on familiarity marketing, and increase your visibility. Twitch is huge right now and a lot of MFC viewers, particularly die-hards, are splitting their time and money between platforms. Learn how to use OBS, create “stream starting soon” screens, “BRB” screens, “Bath show starting soon” screens - stuff like that. Jack up the quality of what your set-up looks like as much as you can so that you appear attractive physically but also in terms of digital (and professional) set up style.

- Do more. More streams. More videos for MFC Share. More content for OnlyFans, more advertising on Reels, more advertising on Twitter, more hours more content more hours more content more hours more content --

...yeah. I know. That’s where it’s come to, in a lot of ways. It’s either relentless patience (which a lot of us don’t have the financial freedom for), or aggressive and constant ‘more more more’ which most of us just don’t possess the capability for anymore. 

I’d strongly recommend revisiting whether or not you want to continue on MFC, particularly if its your (perhaps failing) primary form of income. Obviously there is and always will be money to be made on MFC. Diehard users will likely stick around until the platform literally falls into ruin, and there is always the potential for new users to fall in love with the experience and become dedicated supporters. 

The question here is ... do you want to ride this out? Are you over it? Are the emotional, financial and time costs outweighing the pay? Do you feel as though you want to continue streaming on the platform while it’s experiencing the issues it’s currently experiencing? What if the issues never get resolved?

We’re in recession, “post”-pandemic, during a time of massive inflation. We, as creators, are under more pressure now than ever to be making the type of income we used to make, while relying on supporters who have less to spend than they used to. I hate to sound doom and gloom here, but this is a very, very challenging time, particularly for MFC camgirls for all of the reasons listed above (and more, I’m sure). 

My only strategic advice is to diversify income and go where the money is most likely to be. Reels for advertisement (and the potential for virality, which isn’t a word but you get what I mean) are a more sure fire way to draw traffic to OnlyFans than using MFC. 

This is a heavy post. I don’t want to deflate anyone, but I’m being realistic when I say the vast majority of us right now are likely struggling. You’re not alone, this isn’t the end and there will be another time in the sun - but now we’ve got to work three times as hard for half the pay, and if that’s what it means to make ends meet, we simply have to rise to the occasion.

[wolfgabe]

Spoutible a few months later

Okay a few months out and I can really safely say Spoutible really is the best Twitter alternative out there. I also would like to point out some obvious misinformation I have seen going round. And give a bit of an update on my own personal experiences as well as what has changed.

The site is perfectly safe. The claim that your data is being stolen and leaked is all bullshit. I have yet to see any signs that my information has been compromised and the information Spoutible asks you for is relatively basic stuff.

The claim that Spoutible is hostile to romance authors is also complete BS since there are a good number of romance writers over on Spoutible that have posted with no issue.

Spoutible is a scam is also fake. You cannot tell me that the whale is a scam when the person behind it has been highly up front and transparent about the various issues and working to address them. Spoutible being largely funded by donations right now makes sense considering it lacks a proper advertising model and has yet to attract the support of any major advertisers. They don't even force you to give money either. Donating is completely optional.

Yes I will acknowledge the site has some bugs still but that's to be expected for any new platform really and they have been working on fixing them as fast as they can.

I don't really understand why people are throwing a fuss over Spoutible's stance on porn considering its basically identical to virtually every other social site out there. In case you didn't know Spoutible's TOS was crafted based on the input of users during the beta period and they made it clear they didn't want porn

I have seen people complain about too much political content or how it feels like a left wing echo chamber but there being a lot of politics right now isn't surprising considering a lot of first wave Spoutible users were political journalists and commentators who migrated over from Twitter. If you are wondering why a lot of Spoutible feels very left centric a lot of it likely has to do with the fact that I think many aren't used to being on a platform where more balanced political discussion doesn't have to worry about being constantly drowned out by right wing trolling and disinformation.

And personally, I think it is important Spoutible be allowed to grow as a platform for news and political activism with how much of a right-wing disinformation cess pit Twitter is rapidly devolving into. Its probably no coincidence that I am seeing many journalists jumping ship to the whale right now. Also, here's a tip dont be afraid to check the explore section and remember to look for accounts that match your interests. I can't help but notice a trend/pattern of people coming over to Spoutible just to start shit on purpose knowing they will likely be banned just so they can then run back to Twitter and proclaim how Spoutible is unfairly censoring its users.

What elevates Spoutible above sites like Twitter is that they actually have shown they are taking moderation seriously. I remember earlier a bunch of people showed up Spoutible just to spew racist crap and they all got bounced right away. You would never seen that sort of enforcement over on Twitter. Giving people more tools at their disposal to help cut down on harassment, trolling, and bullying goes a long way in making Spoutible a healthier and more inclusive platform especially for the more marginalized groups such as LGBTQ people.

And now as for what has improved, what I like, and what could be fixed.

Video uploading is now available although still a bit buggy at the moment.

For artists and content creators Spoutible now allows you to monetize your content for free. No fee required. Just click on the red gear on your profile and look for the monetization options. Tips, donations, and subscriptions are all possible.

Still no app but I believe it will be launching soon.

More gamer people are needed which hopefully won't be much of problem if they can get the major gaming companies on board

Image upload limit way more generous than Twitter

I am really enjoying the far stronger engagement on my posts.

Need more companies on board but they are getting there. I think the first major company joined Spoutible today. It was Leap Frog.

Spoutible needs more celebrities and high profile figures. Getting someone like the POTUS would do wonders for raising its image.

Right now I think its highly premature to claim Spoutible will flop just like all the other Twitter altenatives considerings its still relatively young as a platform and still has much potential for growth. I feel I cannot stress enough that Spoutible really is the best Twitter alternative out there. It doesnt have the stability and security problems of HIVE nor does it suffer from Mastodon's server based bullshit and gatekeeping problems. The whole platform was perfectly designed to make migrating from Twitter as painless as possible so once again I will encourage people to give the whale a chance if they are tired of the bird.

[jade-everstone]

Art Goals for 2024

This post is a mirror of a post on my website (here)

It’s a few days into the new year. While the feelings of uncertainty from 2023 still lingers, I set myself a handful of goals going forward to give myself some sense of direction, 8 in fact, though I’ll mostly be focusing on my art-related goals here.

Technical improvement isn’t a major focus this year (I mean, I just did 4+ years of that lol). I think it’s time to focus on more external factors of art, like gaining some stability, pouring more focus into doing it part-time while maintaining the personal side. As well as strengthening skills not directly related to illustration. It’s something that’s fell to the wayside until senior year of college, and now that I’m out of school I think at least for this year I can let these factors overtake direct art improvement.

-

Finish PC-Mania!

My short webseries! This was launched as part of my senior thesis, but has had multiple hiccups in terms of production. This year I want to smooth out those bumps & be able to wrap it up by the end of this year. The reason I say by the end of this year? My drafts are roughly 40 pages, and even with my other plans for this year I’ll have more time on my hands to focus on comics. So I’m pretty confident I can wrap it up regardless of how it happens.

-

Launch Support Streams related to my art

This one was inevitable. Even if it’s a goal of part time vs. full time, I want to be able to do art as a career. Meaning I have to have some form of income to be able to continue doing it comfortably. This one will need time to sort-out though since there are hurtles; Notably my overall lack of reach, as well as inflation times.

Lack of reach is likely due to struggling with consistent posting (even reposts & WIPs slip by me), not wanting to completely bend my practices to algorithms, and migrating between platforms. So that one may be harder to sort-out while keeping it fair to my self & my limits. Inflation is tricky. Art is a luxury afterall, and when the cost of living has skyrocketed across the board I don’t blame people for choosing food and rent over art. I’m likely going to keep it to one-time payments & tip jars indefinitely since I don’t want to launch subscriptions in a time where people looking to cancel them to make ends meet. Plus, with my issues with consistent posting, I’m not in a position to be doing subscription-based works & would also like to better sort out my boundaries before even considering (ie: I don’t want anything that could potentially lead to people feeling entitled to my attention).

I still want to try pushing for commissions & freelance, even with a lack of success over the past few years. Though I also want to look more into online shops & tabling since last year, all of the money I made from art was from IRL sales. So it’s a matter finding those events that are original-art & zine friendly (I’m uninterested in monetizing fanart beyond commissions. Fanart to me = Personal art & I’d like to keep it that way). As well as researching more into online shops as a means to get things out there outside of the convention space.

-

Better-establish OC Lore & Worlds

This one is likely gonna be harder than it sounds. Because on one hand I am excited about these project, but I’ve always struggled with getting ideas-to-paper. While I don’t want to claim much since I don’t have an official diagnosis as of writing, I’m very sure I have ADHD meaning getting down schedules, and getting projects done before I jump to another interest has been a long-term struggle. It’s part of what hampered PC-Mania & reach, and hampers my ability to put more info about the projects I’m working on & are excited about (hell last year, I think I ended up drawing Io way more than art for said projects…).

I don’t know if there’s any “ADHD-friendly guides to maintaining projects before you forget them” out there (I’d argue most project guides & tips I’ve seen don’t consider it), so I’m pretty sure I’m on my own in this department. Currently I’m thinking about leveraging my website for this since it’s meant to be a work archive as is, and even if progress is inconsistent it’ll at least give me a central hub to link back to.

If you are curious, the main one I want to establish is Doverhill! It’s where a PC-Mania takes place for reference, and it’s set in modern times in the fictional town of Doverhill MA. Perfectly normal, except for the occasional paranormal encounter. The main cast that has to deal with them are a group of friends & neighbors who live in an apartment complex together. Story-wise it’s an episodic comedy about the sheer absurdity that is life. Even if it’s not a hard world-building project, it deserves a central hub to link back to.

The other one I’m debating on is Fang and Iron, a dark-sci-fantasy world building project about demon-hunting androids. But I think it needs more time in the oven, and I don’t plan on making it a main focus for a long time.

-

Learn Blender for making assets & Blocking

I’ve thought about the other skills I’d like to strengthen & learn for future projects, notably writing skills, drawing mecha, desktop publishing software, and 3D. But I picked learning 3D, since I feel like this one will have a ton of versatility in terms of making references for myself. If you’re wondering using 3D assets for references is extremely common, especially within the world of comics where you need to re-draw backgrounds and props. So having knowledge on how to block out scenes in blender will help massively in the long run, especially when my schedule starts filling up again.

(now I just need to finish that donut)

-

Shorter Comic Project?

I’m considering this one optional, but if I can squeeze in another smaller 8-16pg comic or zine along the lines of 9:15 Slushie I’d like to. I have an Idea I want to do for it (an idea that existed before 9:15 slushie did!) so the next step is carving out time to make it happen

Those are my main art goals of 2024. For the other 3 main resolutions of mine, I’ll list a short summary of those instead:

Get a job alongside art (I’ll need it. Bills be upon me + even with help from family members, I’d like to transition into being self-sustaining & be able to front the costs for my supplies & projects going forward)

Get my Drivers License (Also needed, especially if I want to continue tabling & other hobbies, and for getting to whatever job I end up at)

Get better at IIDX (and by extension BMS) so I can say I suck at normal 7’s vs normal 4’s lol (my only “hobby” goal of this year. I’ve wanted to get into IIDX for a long time too, so since I’m planning on getting my license & income anyways, I’ll see if I can squeeze this one in)

[rotting-in-your-arms]

Let's Plays Over the Years

Posted 23rd December 2023

I found myself thinking about how much the Let's Play format has changed over the years, and came to the conclusion that there are four main "eras" of the genre.

- The Forum Era - This era originated on Something Awful in circa 2006 credited to user "slowbeef", often using screenshots and text descriptions of the gameplay rather than recorded video or commentary. This format was very rudimentary and often, once a game was completed and discussions over, the thread would be archived and forgotten about, left to rot. The Let's Play Archive was founded in 2007 to archive these threads properly in an easily accessible manner, and later expanded to archiving the later YouTube Let's Plays.

- The Classic YouTube Era - slowbeef is also credited with spawning this circa 2007; traits common in this era include low quality video/audio, YouTube's 10 minute time limit, and little-to-no editing. Many of the games played in this era were classic Nintendo and PC games, things easily emulated and captured with free recording software.

Notable YouTubers include:

retsupurae [a duo consisting of Something Awful users slowbeef and Diabetus, with other users being featured occasionally]

Gaming Garbage [a duo consisting of the late Something Awful founder Lowtax and the disgraced Shmorky]

Chuggaaconroy, NintendoCapriSun, ProtonJon [the three forming TheRunawayGuys channel, but all having solo YT careers]

lucahjin

HCBailly

and many more.

- The Modern YouTube Era - Many would say Pewdiepie was the origin of this new era of Let's Plays on YouTube, introducing a webcam to see the player behind the gameplay (not always featured, but definitely the standard), as well as a deeper focus on PC games, especially titles from independent developers. Other YouTubers include Markiplier, jacksepticeye, CinnamonToastKen VenturianTale, ZackScottGames, Tobuscus' gameplay channel TobyGames, and several others.

An interesting difference with this era and those most popular in it is the focus on indie games, especially horror games. Like Pewdiepie playing Amnesia, or Markiplier playing SCP: Containment Breach, and of course most famously, Five Nights at Freddy's. Rarely do you see console titles, AAA games, or games from companies like Nintendo or Sega. This creates opportunities such as Markiplier's ongoing "3 Scary Games" series, with over 100 episodes and counting. In this series he features indie horror games to bring awareness to the titles and their developers, using his platform to support small creators. Other creators collaborate in this format, some of the most popular of which being Grand Theft Auto V and Gmod gameplay videos.

- The Livestreaming Era - This is a nebulous era, with the rise of Twitch (and YouTube introducing livestreaming features to compete with them), many have taken to playing games live on air. Rather than record with live commentary to be uploaded later, this era is exclusive to playing live with audience (chat) interaction and discussion. Many people who got their start in the modern YT era, and even some from the classic era, have migrated to streaming. One benefit of streaming over prerecording is the ability to generate more content; one can stream gameplay for a sum of hours, upload the VOD, and then edit it down into highlight videos (and in the current YouTube landscape, Shorts). Streaming also allows for multiple sources of income, being able to take Twitch subscriptions, donations, or even on-stream sponsorships, on top of YouTube's standard ad revenue (and sponsors there, too). Although, due to the nature of online content creation, this is always a gamble- making money is never guaranteed and many creators have a lot of luck (or networking) on their side when they finally make their break (of course, this applies to the prior two eras, but the prospect of making content creation a job is much more realistic today than it was back then).

I personally grew up with the "classic era", seeing a lot of the modern era too. I was kinda right in-between them, I watched a lot of NCS, RunawayGuys, ScykohPlays if anyone remembers him (though he was actually a few years later), and then Pewdiepie got big. I remember spending a lot of time watching Happy Wheels videos from Pewdiepie, TobyGames, a lot of Markiplier's SCP Containment Breach series and obviously his FNAF playthroughs (I actually rewatched his SCP series a few years back, it was fun). I really respect Mark for showing off indie devs' work on his channel, he's kind of been doing it since he started but he's put more focus on it. I also think it's really interesting that you rarely see him play anything triple-A, same with the other big channels of those years. It makes me wonder if he's ever played Resident Evil or Silent Hill or something, like old PSX or PS2 horror games.

Anyway, sorry for the sort of "stream of consciousness" blogpost. And the lack of site updates in the past couple months. Life hasn't been treating me very well lately. Maybe I'll write a blogpost about it someday. I just felt like writing about something that made me feel a little happy :D.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays too, almost forgot to say that.

[govindhtech]

IBM Maximo AWS Deployment Strategies

The Business Value of IBM Maximo, a recent IDC report that surveyed 9 companies with an average of 8,500 employees, found that adopting IBM Maximo resulted in a business benefit of USD 14.6 million per year per organization, 43% less unplanned downtime, and USD 8.6 million in total equipment cost avoidances.

One comprehensive, cloud-based application platform for asset monitoring, management, predictive maintenance, and reliability planning is IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS). Maximo optimizes performance, extends asset lifecycles, and reduces downtime and costs for high-value assets using AI and analytics. Hosting Maximo on a scalable infrastructure maximizes performance, hence the current tendency is to shift it to the cloud. In this trip, MAS migration and deployment on AWS Cloud are gaining popularity.

The growing demand for Maximo AWS Cloud migration

Migrating to cloud helps enterprises improve operational resilience and dependability while updating software with minimal effort and infrastructure constraints. Due to the growing demand for data-driven asset management, firms must aggregate data from diverse departments to identify trends, generate predictions, and make better asset management decisions.

Last April, IBM said Maximo 7.6 and add-on support would stop in September 2025. All Maximo EAM customers must upgrade to the latest cloud-based MAS. Maximo migration and modernization are become increasingly significant to clients.

IBM has released new containerized versions of Maximo Application Suite as a Service (MAS SaaS) on AWS Marketplace with Bring Your Own License (BYOL) to assist Maximo migration to AWS. MAS SaaS on AWS is another milestone in Maximo’s integration of Monitor, Health, and Visual Inspection into a unified suite.

What makes MAS SaaS distinct

IBM Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) specialists use best practices to continuously maintain and administer MAS SaaS, a subscription-based AWS service. This partnership gives customers an industry-leading IBM asset management system underpinned by AWS’s size, agility, and cost-efficiency.

Upgrades and migrations to MAS 8 are possible with MAS SaaS. The data update is similar to prior upgrades, but ROSA and other dependencies require architecture changes. The migration is comparable to how clients transitioned from on-premise to Maximo EAM SaaS Flex, but with MAS changes. Perpetual on-premises customers would stop paying Service & Support (S&S) and purchase a SaaS subscription, on-premises Subscription License customers would start a new subscription, and existing MAS Flex and MAS Managed Service customers would start a new subscription to migrate to MAS SaaS.

Our IBM Consulting Cloud Accelerator (ICCA) technology lets firms plan migration and upgrade strategies before investing.

Maximo migration strategy of a global energy firm

IBM worked closely with an energy company confronting the following challenges:

Infrastructure needed for latest Maximo version takes longer.

WebSphere, Maximo’s core, experienced high-availability and performance difficulties.

Lack of data fabric and integration layer hinders cross-application data interchange.

Complex setup, failures, and security with manual end-to-end deployment.

Since Maximo Application Suite 8 (MAS8) tackles industry issues like failure risk, escalating maintenance costs, sustainability, and compliance laws, the customer chose it. The client chose AWS Cloud for its deployment flexibility, scalability, high availability, and secure architecture. 

Approach to solution

This is how IBM accelerated the energy company’s Maximo move to AWS:

Used Infra as a code to upgrade Maximo from 7.6.0.9 to 7.6.1.2.

IaC allowed instance spin-up for auto scaling. This automation reduces the time to spin up and execute the new environment and addresses multi-AWS availability zone deployment latency.

Used AWS DMS for data migration and schema conversion.

IaC spun the DR environment on demand to reduce database replication (DR) infrastructure and expense. DR capabilities update data in availability zone and DR area.

Achieved data exchange across applications using IBM Cloud Pak for Data and standardized integration using IBM Cloud Pak for Integration components.

Solution components

Maximum Enterprise Application Management (EAM) has a 3-tier design with these components:

HTTP/Web Tier and Application Tier using IBM WebSphere and HIS installed EC2 instance under private subnet for application security.

Database Tier uses AWS Oracle RDS with replication for DR under private subnet.

AWS best practices were used to configure VPC with public and private subnets.

Application servers and deployment manager were autoscaled by Auto Scaling Group. 

Maximum web-based UI resolution for external access using AWS Route 53.

WAF was the initial line of defense against web exploits.

Integration of Terraform and CFT IaC scripts provided autoscaling architecture.

AWS Reference Architecture

Max on RedHat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) helps clients

Containerized MAS 8.0 runs on RedHat OpenShift. AWS, IBM, and RedHat developed an IBM MAS on ROSA reference architecture to help customers inexperienced with production containerization. ROSA, a fully managed, turnkey application platform, supports IBM MAS configuration and offloads cluster lifecycle management to RedHat and AWS, allowing organizations to focus on application deployment and innovation. This means IBM MAS clients don’t need to develop, administer, or maintain RedHat OpenShift clusters.

Operating Model and Maximo Migration

Top 3 Maximo AWS migration accelerators

Clients can migrate to the cloud using three IBM MAS deployment methods on AWS Cloud:

ROSA-powered MAS SaaS on AWS

ROSA-powered AWS MAS

Customer-hosted ROSA

Why use customer-hosted ROSA

The customer-hosted ROSA option for hosting IBM MAS in a customer’s VPC with ROSA is powerful. ROSA is perfect for MAS deployments because it seamlessly deploys, scales, and manages containerized applications.

The benefits of this choice are enormous. Full control over the infrastructure while still subject to the organization’s monitoring, controls, and governance standards allows businesses to customize and adjust the environment to their needs. This control includes adding MAS integrations and enforcing cloud security and governance requirements. ROSA charges are combined into one AWS bill and drawn from any AWS enterprise agreement, simplifying financial management.

AWS enterprise agreements and Compute Savings Plans offer infrastructure savings for MAS implementations. Because the ROSA cluster operates under the customer’s AWS account, customers can buy upfront ROSA contracts and get a one-year or three-year ROSA service charge discount.

Why IBM for Maximo AWS migration?

Any modernization effort must include cloud migration. Cloud migration is not a one-size-fits-all method, and each organization faces unique cloud adoption difficulties.

IBM Consulting’s Application Modernization offering helps clients migrate and modernize AWS applications faster, cheaper, and more efficiently, reducing technical debt and accelerating digital initiatives while minimizing business risk and improving business agility.

IBM offers unique cloud migration services to accelerate customer application migration to AWS:

Cloud migration factory capabilities including proven frameworks and processes, automation, migrating templates, security policies, and AWS-specific migration squads speed up delivery.

IBM Garage Methodology, IBM’s cloud services delivery capabilities, ROSA, and AWS Migration tools and accelerators accelerate migration and cloud adoption.

ICCA, IBM’s proprietary framework for migration and modernization, reduces risk. ICCA for AWS Cloud automates various modernization procedures, simplifying and speeding up company agility. Before investing, businesses can plan migration and modernization strategies. Discover IBM Consulting Cloud Accelerator for AWS Cloud.

Our well-defined pattern-based migration methodology includes re-factor, re-platform, and containerization using AWS managed services and industry-leading tools to remove and optimize technical debt.

Finally, IBM offers customizable t-shirt-sized price models for small, medium, and large migration sizes, ensuring clients’ migration scope is obvious.

IBM helps clients migrate applications, like Maximo to AWS Cloud

In conclusion, clients seek IBM’s expertise to:

1.Upgrade Maximo 7.6x (expiring 2025) to MAS 8. 

2.On-premise workload to AWS Cloud for elastic, scalable, and highly available infrastructure and runtime

IBM Consulting can help

AWS Premier Partner IBM Consulting accelerates hybrid cloud journeys on the AWS Cloud by leveraging business and IT transformation skills, processes, and tools from many industries. On AWS Cloud, IBM’s security, enterprise scalability, and open innovation with Red Hat OpenShift enable enterprises grow swiftly.

BM Consulting develops cloud-native apps in AWS Cloud with 21,000+ AWS-certified cloud practitioners, 17 validated SDD programs, and 16 AWS competencies. IBM Consulting is the best AWS partner due to acquisitions like Nordcloud and Taos, advancements at IBM Research, and co-development with AWS.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[hansdominguez]

How to Cancel Shopify Subscription: A Step-by-Step Guide

Canceling a Shopify subscription might seem daunting, but it’s a straightforward process when you know what steps to follow. Whether you’re switching platforms, pausing your store, or deciding to stop using Shopify altogether, canceling your subscription correctly is crucial to avoid extra charges or complications. This guide will walk you through the step-by-step process of cancel shopify subscription, ensuring a smooth transition.

Understanding Shopify's Billing Cycle

Monthly vs. Yearly Plans

Before canceling your Shopify subscription, it’s essential to understand how Shopify’s billing works. Shopify offers both monthly and yearly subscription options. If you are on a monthly plan, your store is billed at the end of each billing cycle. However, if you have a yearly plan, canceling might not stop the subscription immediately, and refunds are not typically given for unused time on a yearly subscription.

Review Outstanding Fees

Make sure you review any outstanding charges before canceling your subscription. Shopify bills you for the current cycle, so if you cancel in the middle of a billing period, you may still owe fees. This includes app subscriptions, shipping costs, or any custom features you’ve added to your store. It’s essential to settle all outstanding charges to avoid any billing issues after the cancellation.

Preparing to Cancel Your Shopify Subscription

Backup Your Data

Canceling your Shopify subscription means losing access to your store’s backend, including all customer data, product information, and order history. Therefore, it’s crucial to back up your data before proceeding. You can export customer lists, orders, and product information in CSV format. This backup ensures you have access to your data in case you decide to reopen your store or migrate to another platform.

Cancel Third-Party App Subscriptions

If you’ve installed third-party apps through Shopify, canceling your Shopify subscription won’t automatically cancel these apps. You need to manually cancel each app to prevent further charges. Go to the “Apps” section in your Shopify admin, and review each app’s subscription. Cancel the ones you no longer need before moving forward with the cancellation of your Shopify account.

How to Cancel Your Shopify Subscription

Log in to Your Shopify Admin

The first step to canceling your subscription is to log in to your Shopify admin panel. Ensure you are using the correct account, as you can only cancel your store through the account that holds the store owner role.

Go to “Settings”

Once logged in, navigate to the “Settings” option located at the bottom left of the dashboard. The “Settings” menu holds various options, including those for billing, payments, and your store subscription.

Select “Plan”

In the “Settings” menu, you’ll see a section labeled “Plan.” Click on this option to access your subscription details. Here, you’ll find information about your current Shopify plan, billing cycle, and available options for changing or canceling the plan.

Click on “Deactivate Store”

In the “Plan” section, scroll to the bottom of the page until you find the “Deactivate Store” option. Clicking on this will take you to the deactivation page, where you can confirm that you want to close your store.

Choose a Reason for Cancellation

Shopify will ask you to select a reason for canceling your subscription. The platform collects this information for feedback and improvement purposes. You can choose from options such as switching platforms, business closure, or financial reasons. While this step is mandatory, it doesn’t affect the cancellation process.

Confirm Store Deactivation

After selecting your reason for cancellation, Shopify will ask you to confirm your decision. Once you confirm, your store will be deactivated, and your subscription will be canceled. If you have a monthly plan, you won’t be charged further after the current billing period. If you have a yearly plan, the subscription will remain active until the period ends, but the store will be inaccessible.

Additional Steps After Canceling

Save Your Shopify URL

Even after canceling your Shopify subscription, your store URL will remain reserved for you. If you decide to return to Shopify in the future, you can reactivate your store using the same URL, provided no one else has claimed it in the meantime. It’s a good idea to save your store URL in case you want to resume your business later.

Remove Shopify from Your Domain

If you purchased your domain through Shopify, it will remain active, but your store will be inaccessible. You may want to transfer the domain to another hosting service if you plan to use it elsewhere. If you connected a domain from a third-party provider, ensure you remove Shopify’s DNS settings from the domain settings so that it no longer points to your Shopify store.

Pause Store as an Alternative

If you’re unsure about permanently canceling your Shopify subscription, you can choose to pause your store instead. Shopify offers a “Pause and Build” plan, which allows you to keep your store online at a reduced cost. This option is useful if you plan to take a break from running the store but don’t want to lose all your progress. Your store will remain visible to customers, but they won’t be able to make purchases.

Refunds and Reopening Your Store

Shopify’s Refund Policy

Shopify does not typically offer refunds for canceled subscriptions. If you cancel in the middle of a billing cycle, you will still have access to the store until the end of that period, but you won’t be refunded for any unused time. For yearly plans, there is usually no refund available, so make sure you fully understand the commitment before signing up for longer subscription periods.

Reopening Your Store

If you change your mind and decide to reopen your Shopify store, you can do so by logging back into your account. Shopify allows store reactivation within a specific period after cancellation, although some data, like app settings or customizations, may be lost. To ensure a smooth reopening, it’s a good idea to back up all relevant data before canceling.

Conclusion

Canceling your Shopify subscription is a straightforward process, but it requires careful preparation to avoid unnecessary charges and data loss. By backing up your data, canceling third-party app subscriptions, and following the step-by-step guide, you can ensure a smooth transition. Using the best no-code mobile app builder can help if you decide to switch platforms while maintaining mobile functionality. Whether you’re switching platforms, pausing operations, or closing your business, understanding Shopify’s cancellation process helps prevent any future issues.

[bigeyeglobal]

Cloud Computing vs Cloud Consulting

Cloud computing and cloud consulting are related but distinct concepts within the broader field of cloud services. Here’s a breakdown of the differences and how each plays a role in the technology landscape:

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services over the Internet. These services include servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and more. The main idea is to provide scalable and flexible resources on demand, allowing users to access and use these resources without needing to manage physical hardware or software.

Key Components:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. Examples include virtual machines, storage, and networks.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): Offers a platform allowing developers to build, run, and manage applications without dealing with the underlying infrastructure.

Software as a Service (SaaS): Delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis, accessible via web browsers.

Benefits:

Scalability: Easily scale resources up or down based on demand.

Cost Efficiency: Pay for what you use rather than investing in physical hardware.

Accessibility: Access resources from anywhere with an internet connection.

Maintenance: Providers handle maintenance and updates.

Cloud Consulting

Cloud consulting involves advisory services provided by experts to help organizations plan, implement, and optimize their cloud computing strategies. Consultants assist businesses in understanding how cloud technologies can be applied to meet their specific needs and goals.

Key Components:

Strategy Development: Advising on the best cloud strategy based on an organization’s needs, including choosing between public, private, or hybrid clouds.

Migration Planning: Helping businesses move their data, applications, and workloads to the cloud efficiently and securely.

Architecture Design: Designing cloud solutions that are scalable, secure, and aligned with business objectives.

Optimization: Analyzing and improving cloud performance and cost-efficiency.

Compliance and Security: Ensuring that cloud solutions meet regulatory requirements and have appropriate security measures.

Benefits:

Expertise: Access to specialized knowledge and experience that helps in making informed decisions.

Tailored Solutions: Customized advice and solutions that address specific business challenges and goals.

Risk Mitigation: Identifying potential risks and developing strategies to manage them.

Efficiency: Streamlining cloud adoption processes and optimizing existing cloud investments.

Comparison

Scope:

Cloud Computing: Focuses on the actual delivery and use of cloud services and resources.

Cloud Consulting: Focuses on advising and assisting organizations in adopting and optimizing cloud technologies.

Objective:

Cloud Computing: Provides the infrastructure, platforms, and software needed for cloud-based operations.

Cloud Consulting: Helps businesses navigate their cloud journey, from planning and migration to optimization and compliance.

Audience:

Cloud Computing: Typically involves IT departments and end-users who consume cloud services.

Cloud Consulting: Targets business leaders, IT managers, and organizations seeking expert guidance on cloud strategies.

In summary, cloud computing is about using Cloud Computing services to meet your business needs, while Cloud Consulting is about getting expert advice to make the most of those services. Both are crucial, but they address different aspects of cloud technology.

[jeanlong94]

Can I Transfer My Paired Devices to Another r-rumble.com Account?

In today's digital world, it's common for users to have multiple online accounts, each linked to various devices. If you're a user of r-rumble.com, a platform popular for streaming content, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to transfer your paired devices from one account to another. This could be due to several reasons—maybe you've created a new account, or perhaps you're sharing your device with someone else who has their own account. Whatever the reason, the question remains: Can you transfer your paired devices to another rumble.com/pair account? In this article, we'll explore this possibility and provide detailed guidance on how to manage your paired devices effectively.

Understanding Paired Devices on r-rumble.com

Before diving into the process of transferring devices, it's essential to understand what pairing a device means on r-rumble.com. Pairing is a process that allows a specific device, such as a smart TV, smartphone, or streaming device, to be linked to your r-rumble.com account. Once paired, the device can access your account's content, including personalized settings, playlists, and recommendations.

The pairing process is usually straightforward. You visit rumble.com/pair on your device, enter the pairing code displayed on your screen, and your device is linked to your account. This convenient feature ensures that your content is accessible across multiple devices without needing to log in repeatedly.

Why You Might Want to Transfer Paired Devices

There are several scenarios where transferring paired devices to another account might be necessary:

Account Migration: If you've decided to create a new r-rumble.com account, perhaps to start fresh or because of security reasons, you may want to move your paired devices to the new account.

Sharing Devices: In households with multiple users, it’s common for a single device to be shared among family members or roommates. Each person may have their own r-rumble.com account, and they might want to switch the paired account on a shared device.

Selling or Gifting Devices: If you plan to sell or gift a device that’s currently paired with your r-rumble.com account, you might want to transfer it to the new owner’s account or simply unpair it.

Subscription Changes: If you've changed your subscription plan or moved to a family or group account, you may want to transfer your paired devices to the new account to take advantage of shared benefits.

Can You Directly Transfer Paired Devices?

The straightforward answer to whether you can directly transfer paired devices between r-rumble.com accounts is no. r-rumble.com currently does not support the direct transfer of paired devices from one account to another. However, this does not mean you're entirely out of options. You can still manage your devices by following some alternative methods, which we'll discuss in detail.

Method 1: Unpairing and Re-pairing Devices

The most straightforward method to transfer your devices to a new account is to unpair the device from your current account and then pair it with the new one. Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: Unpair the Device from Your Current Account

Log in to your r-rumble.com account: Use the account currently paired with the device.

Access Device Settings: Navigate to the settings section of your account, where you'll find a list of paired devices.

Select the Device: Choose the device you want to unpair from the list.

Unpair the Device: Follow the prompts to unpair the device. This will remove the device from your account.

Step 2: Pair the Device with the New Account

Log in to the New Account: Use the credentials of the r-rumble.com account you wish to pair the device with.

Go to rumble.com/pair: On the device you want to pair, visit the pairing page.

Enter the Pairing Code: Follow the on-screen instructions to enter the pairing code provided by the new account.

Complete the Pairing Process: Once paired, the device will now be linked to the new account, allowing access to content and settings.

Method 2: Managing Multiple Accounts on a Single Device

If you want to keep your device paired with multiple accounts, you might consider managing multiple accounts on a single device. While r-rumble.com doesn't natively support multiple account logins on a single device, there are some workarounds you can try:

Option 1: Using Different User Profiles

Some devices, particularly smart TVs and streaming devices, support multiple user profiles. Each profile can have its own apps and settings. If your device supports this feature, you can create a new user profile for each r-rumble.com account you want to use. Here's how:

Create a New Profile: Navigate to the user profile settings on your device.

Install the r-rumble.com App: If necessary, download and install the r-rumble.com app for the new profile.

Pair the Device: Log in to the r-rumble.com account you want to use and complete the pairing process for the new profile.

Option 2: Using Browser-Based Access

Another method to access multiple accounts on a single device is by using different web browsers or private/incognito mode. This method is more suitable for computers or devices with web browser capabilities:

Open a Browser: Launch a web browser on your device.

Use Incognito/Private Mode: Open a private or incognito window to avoid automatic login to your existing r-rumble.com account.

Log in to the New Account: Navigate to r-rumble.com and log in with the new account credentials.

Pair the Device: If necessary, visit rumble.com/pair and follow the instructions to pair the device.

Method 3: Using Third-Party Apps or Extensions

Some users may opt to use third-party apps or browser extensions to manage multiple accounts. While this can be a convenient solution, it’s essential to approach this method with caution, as third-party tools may have privacy and security risks. Always ensure that you use trusted applications and read reviews before installation.

Considerations and Limitations

While the above methods provide options for managing paired devices across multiple accounts, there are some considerations and limitations to keep in mind:

Device Compatibility: Not all devices may support multiple profiles or browser-based access. Check your device’s specifications and user manual for compatibility details.

Security Risks: Using third-party apps or sharing devices among multiple users can pose security risks. Ensure that your account credentials are secure and that you use trusted applications.

Content Restrictions: Some content on r-rumble.com may have regional or account-specific restrictions. Pairing your device with a new account might affect access to certain content, depending on the account’s settings and subscription plan.

Loss of Personalization: Unpairing and re-pairing devices might result in the loss of personalized settings, watch history, and recommendations. Consider whether this is a significant concern for you before proceeding.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you encounter issues during the process of unpairing or pairing devices, here are some common problems and solutions:

Issue 1: Unable to Unpair a Device

If you're having trouble unpairing a device, ensure that the device is connected to the internet and that you're logged in to the correct r-rumble.com account. If the problem persists, try restarting the device or contacting r-rumble.com support for assistance.

Issue 2: Pairing Code Not Accepted

If the pairing code is not being accepted, double-check that you’ve entered the correct code and that your device is connected to the internet. Sometimes, clearing the cache or restarting the browser can resolve this issue.

Issue 3: Device Not Appearing in the List

If your device is not showing up in the paired devices list, ensure that it's correctly connected and paired with your account. If it still doesn’t appear, try re-pairing the device or checking for software updates.

Conclusion

While r-rumble.com does not support the direct transfer of paired devices between accounts, there are alternative methods to achieve similar results. By unpairing and re-pairing devices, managing multiple accounts, or using third-party tools, you can effectively manage your device pairings to suit your needs. Whether you're migrating to a new account, sharing devices, or dealing with subscription changes, understanding these methods will help you navigate the process with ease.

Remember to visit rumble.com/pair whenever you need to pair or re-pair a device, and always keep security considerations in mind when managing your accounts. By following these guidelines, you can ensure a seamless and secure experience on r-rumble.com.

[engrammonline]

Comparing Popular IELTS Online Courses: A Comprehensive Guide

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a critical exam for those seeking to study, work, or migrate to English-speaking countries. With the growing demand for flexible learning options, online IELTS courses have become increasingly popular. But with so many options available, how do you choose the right one? In this blog post, we’ll compare some of the most popular IELTS online courses, evaluating their features, strengths, and potential drawbacks to help you make an informed decision.

IELTS Liz Overview: IELTS Liz is a well-known platform created by Liz, an experienced IELTS teacher. It offers a range of free and premium resources for IELTS preparation. Features: Free video tutorials and practice questions Comprehensive tips and strategies for all test sections Premium courses with in-depth practice tests and feedback Interactive quizzes and downloadable materials Strengths: Extensive free resources make it accessible for all budgets Clear, easy-to-follow explanations and strategies Focus on practical tips and real exam experience Drawbacks: Premium content can be expensive Limited interactive features compared to other platforms Best For: Beginners and intermediate learners looking for a mix of free and premium resources with practical tips.

Magoosh Overview: Magoosh is a popular online education company that offers IELTS preparation courses with a focus on test strategies and practice. Features: Video lessons and interactive quizzes Practice tests with detailed explanations Study plans tailored to different proficiency levels Access to a community forum for questions and support Strengths: High-quality video content with engaging explanations Comprehensive practice materials and mock tests Flexible study plans that adapt to your needs Drawbacks: Subscription-based model may be costly for some Limited live interaction with instructors Best For: Students who prefer a structured, video-based learning approach with plenty of practice opportunities.

British Council Overview: The British Council is one of the official IELTS test providers and offers a range of online preparation courses. Features: Official practice materials and sample tests Interactive exercises and video tutorials Access to a global community of learners Expert feedback and support from certified instructors Strengths: Authentic materials created by the test provider Well-organized and comprehensive course structure Expert guidance and support from experienced instructors Drawbacks: Higher cost compared to other online courses May be less flexible in terms of study schedule Best For: Learners seeking official, high-quality materials and expert instruction from a reputable source.

Kaplan Overview: Kaplan is a global education provider that offers IELTS preparation courses with a focus on test-taking strategies and practice. Features: Live online classes with interactive sessions Access to practice tests and diagnostic tools Personalized feedback and study plans Mobile-friendly resources for on-the-go learning Strengths: Interactive live classes and real-time feedback Extensive practice materials and diagnostic tools Flexibility with mobile-friendly resources Drawbacks: Higher cost for live classes Limited access to recorded content for review Best For: Students who prefer live instruction and real-time interaction with teachers.

EdX Overview: EdX offers online IELTS preparation courses created by top universities and institutions. Features: Self-paced courses with video lectures and exercises High-quality content from academic institutions Certification options for completed courses Interactive discussion forums and peer support Strengths: High-quality academic content from reputable institutions Flexible, self-paced learning options Certification that can add value to your resume Drawbacks: May be less focused on practical test strategies Some courses may not offer extensive practice materials Best For: Students who prefer academic-based courses and value certification from prestigious institutions.

IELTS Advantage Overview: IELTS Advantage is an online platform offering a variety of courses and resources tailored to different needs and proficiency levels. Features: Comprehensive courses covering all IELTS sections Personal coaching and feedback from experienced teachers Practice tests and study materials Flexible study plans and personalized support Strengths: Tailored courses to suit individual needs Personal coaching provides targeted feedback Extensive practice materials and resources Drawbacks: Can be more expensive compared to other online options Limited free resources available Best For: Learners looking for personalized coaching and a tailored approach to IELTS preparation.

Conclusion Choosing the right IELTS online course depends on your learning style, budget, and specific needs. Whether you prefer comprehensive courses with expert guidance, flexible video-based learning, or official materials from recognized institutions, there’s an online course that can meet your requirements. By comparing the features, strengths, and drawbacks of popular options like IELTS Liz, Magoosh, the British Council, Kaplan, EdX, and IELTS Advantage, you can make an informed choice that aligns with your study goals and helps you achieve your desired IELTS score.

[onlineprofessionalcourse]

Become an Azure Administration Expert With Azure Administration Course

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, cloud computing has emerged as a critical component of modern IT infrastructure. Among the leading cloud platforms, Microsoft Azure stands out, offering a vast array of services that enable organizations to build, deploy, and manage applications on a global scale. With the growing demand for cloud expertise, becoming proficient in Azure Administration is more important than ever. Whether you are an IT professional looking to upskill or an aspiring cloud specialist, the Azure Administration Course from SkillUp Online offers the perfect pathway to mastery.

Why Choose Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a comprehensive cloud platform that supports a wide range of services, including computing, analytics, storage, and networking. It is trusted by enterprises worldwide, thanks to its robust security features, scalability, and flexibility. As organizations continue to migrate to the cloud, the demand for skilled Azure Administrators is on the rise. This role is pivotal in managing and maintaining Azure resources, ensuring that applications run smoothly and securely.

By mastering Azure Administration, you position yourself as a valuable asset in the IT job market. The Azure Administration Course offered by SkillUp Online provides in-depth training that covers all aspects of Azure, equipping you with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in this dynamic field.

Course Overview: What You Will Learn

1. Azure Fundamentals

The course begins with a comprehensive introduction to Azure, covering essential concepts such as cloud computing models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), Azure architecture, and core services. Understanding these fundamentals is crucial for any Azure Administrator, as they provide the foundation upon which advanced knowledge is built.

2. Managing Azure Subscriptions and Resources

One of the primary responsibilities of an Azure Administrator is managing subscriptions and resources. This module delves into the management of Azure subscriptions, including billing, policies, and role-based access control (RBAC). You will also learn how to create and manage resource groups, which are essential for organizing and managing resources efficiently.

3. Implementing and Managing Storage

Azure offers a variety of storage options, each tailored to different use cases. This section covers the implementation and management of Azure storage solutions, including Blob storage, Azure Files, and managed disks. You will learn how to create and manage storage accounts, configure network access, and implement backup and recovery solutions.

4. Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks

Networking is a critical aspect of any cloud infrastructure, and Azure Administration is no exception. This module provides a deep dive into Azure networking, covering virtual networks (VNets), subnets, and network security groups (NSGs). You will also learn how to configure public and private IP addresses, set up VPN gateways, and manage network connectivity.

5. Managing Identities and Access

Security is a top priority in cloud environments, and managing identities and access is a key responsibility of an Azure Administrator. This section covers Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), including user and group management, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and conditional access policies. You will also explore identity protection, ensuring that your Azure environment is secure and compliant.

6. Deploying and Managing Virtual Machines

Virtual machines (VMs) are the backbone of many cloud-based applications, and managing them effectively is essential for any Azure Administrator. This module teaches you how to deploy and configure VMs, including selecting the appropriate VM size, configuring availability sets, and implementing automated scaling. You will also learn how to manage VM backups, monitor performance, and troubleshoot common issues.

7. Monitoring and Backing Up Azure Resources

Monitoring is essential for maintaining the health and performance of your Azure environment. This module covers the use of Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Azure Security Center to track performance, detect anomalies, and respond to security threats. Additionally, you will learn how to implement backup and disaster recovery strategies to ensure the continuity of your applications.

8. Managing Azure Governance and Compliance

Governance and compliance are critical considerations for any organization using cloud services. This module explores the tools and features available in Azure to help you enforce organizational policies, track compliance, and manage costs. You will learn how to use Azure Policy, Azure Blueprints, and Cost Management to ensure that your Azure environment meets your organization's requirements.

SkillUp Online: Your Pathway to Azure Mastery

The Azure Administration Course from SkillUp Online is designed to provide a comprehensive learning experience that prepares you for real-world challenges. Here are some of the key benefits of choosing this course:

1. Expert Instructors

Our course is taught by experienced professionals who are experts in Microsoft Azure. They bring real-world insights and practical knowledge to the classroom, ensuring that you gain a deep understanding of Azure Administration.

2. Hands-On Learning

At SkillUp Online, we believe in learning by doing. The course includes hands-on labs and practical exercises that allow you to apply what you've learned in a simulated Azure environment. This hands-on experience is invaluable in building the confidence and skills needed to succeed in your role as an Azure Administrator.

3. Flexible Learning Options

We understand that our learners have busy schedules. That's why our Azure Administration Course is designed to be flexible, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Whether you prefer self-paced learning or instructor-led sessions, we have options that fit your needs.

4. Certification Preparation

The Azure Administration Course is aligned with the Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate certification. By completing this course, you will be well-prepared to pass the certification exam and earn a credential that is recognized and respected in the industry.

5. Career Support

At SkillUp Online, we are committed to your success. In addition to providing top-notch training, we offer career support services to help you achieve your goals. From resume building to interview preparation, we are here to support you every step of the way.

Conclusion: Elevate Your Career with Azure Administration

In the fast-paced world of IT, staying ahead of the curve is essential. By mastering Azure Administration through the Azure Administration Course from SkillUp Online, you position yourself for success in a high-demand field. With expert instruction, hands-on learning, and comprehensive support, this course offers everything you need to become an Azure Administration expert.

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Exploring NetSuite with Aretove Technologies: Top NetSuite Consultants in the USA

In today’s competitive business landscape, companies are increasingly turning to integrated cloud-based solutions to streamline their operations, enhance efficiency, and drive growth. NetSuite, a leading cloud ERP solution, is at the forefront of this transformation. As one of the top NetSuite consultants in the USA, Aretove Technologies is committed to helping businesses leverage NetSuite to its fullest potential. In this blog, we will explore what NetSuite is, its benefits, and how Aretove Technologies can assist you in implementing this powerful solution.

What is NetSuite?

NetSuite is a comprehensive, cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution that integrates various business functions into a single platform. It encompasses a range of modules, including financial management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), e-commerce, inventory and order management, Human Resources (HR), and more. NetSuite’s integrated approach allows businesses to manage their operations with greater efficiency, visibility, and control.

Key features of NetSuite include:

Financial Management: Streamlines financial operations, including accounting, invoicing, budgeting, and reporting.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Enhances customer interactions, sales processes, and support services.

E-commerce: Provides robust e-commerce capabilities, including online store management, marketing, and order fulfillment.

Inventory and Order Management: Optimizes inventory levels, automates order processing, and improves supply chain management.

Human Resources: Manages employee data, payroll, benefits, and performance evaluations.

Benefits of NetSuite

Implementing NetSuite offers numerous benefits for businesses looking to enhance their operations and achieve digital transformation. Some of the key advantages include:

1. Unified Platform

NetSuite integrates all core business functions into a single platform, eliminating the need for multiple, disparate systems. This unified approach ensures data consistency, reduces manual data entry, and streamlines operations.

2. Real-Time Visibility

NetSuite provides real-time visibility into business performance through customizable dashboards and reports. This enables businesses to make informed decisions based on accurate and up-to-date information.

3. Scalability

NetSuite is designed to scale with your business. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, NetSuite can accommodate your growth and evolving needs without requiring significant investments in additional infrastructure.

4. Cost Efficiency

As a cloud-based solution, NetSuite eliminates the need for costly on-premises hardware and maintenance. It operates on a subscription-based model, allowing businesses to pay only for the modules and features they need.

5. Improved Collaboration

NetSuite’s cloud-based nature facilitates collaboration among team members, regardless of their location. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with remote or geographically dispersed teams.

Aretove Technologies: Top NetSuite Consultants in the USA

Aretove Technologies is a leading NetSuite solution provider in the USA, offering a range of services to help businesses implement, customize, and optimize NetSuite to meet their unique needs. Here’s how we can assist you:

1. Expert Consultation and Strategy Development

Our team of experienced NetSuite consultants works closely with your organization to understand your business processes, challenges, and goals. We develop a tailored strategy to ensure that NetSuite aligns with your business objectives and delivers maximum value.

2. Seamless Implementation

Aretove Technologies ensures a smooth and efficient implementation of NetSuite. Our consultants handle everything from initial setup to data migration, configuration, and testing, minimizing disruptions to your operations.

3. Customization and Integration

We understand that every business is unique. Our team can customize NetSuite to meet your specific requirements and integrate it with other systems and applications you use, ensuring a seamless flow of information across your organization.

4. Training and Support

To ensure that your team can effectively use What is NetSuite? , we provide comprehensive training and ongoing support. Our consultants are always available to address any issues, provide updates, and assist with any additional customizations or enhancements.

5. Continuous Optimization

Our relationship with clients extends beyond implementation. We continuously monitor your NetSuite environment to identify opportunities for improvement and optimization, ensuring that you always get the most out of your investment.

Case Study: Transforming Business Operations with NetSuite

Client: A Mid-Sized Manufacturing Company

Challenge:

The client faced challenges with disparate systems for accounting, inventory management, and customer service. This fragmentation led to inefficiencies, data inconsistencies, and limited visibility into overall business performance.

Solution:

Aretove Technologies implemented NetSuite as a unified platform to integrate the client’s core business functions. We customized the solution to meet their specific needs and provided extensive training to ensure a smooth transition.

Results:

Operational Efficiency: The client experienced a 30% reduction in operational costs due to streamlined processes and automation.

Data Consistency: NetSuite’s unified platform ensured data consistency, reducing errors and improving decision-making.

Enhanced Visibility: Real-time dashboards and reports provided the client with comprehensive insights into business performance, enabling better strategic planning.

Conclusion

NetSuite is a powerful ERP solution that can transform your business operations, enhance efficiency, and drive growth. As one of the top NetSuite consultants in the USA, Aretove Technologies is dedicated to helping businesses harness the full potential of NetSuite. Our comprehensive services, from expert consultation and seamless implementation to customization and continuous optimization, ensure that you achieve your business goals with NetSuite.

For more information on how Aretove Technologies can assist you with NetSuite, visit our website or contact us today. Let us help you unlock the full potential of your business with NetSuite.

[sakhshimandal]

Maximizing Efficiency with Oracle ERP Cloud: Key Features and Benefits

In today's fast-paced business environment, efficiency and agility are crucial for success. Enterprises are constantly seeking ways to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve productivity. Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions provide a comprehensive suite of tools designed to help businesses achieve these goals. This blog explores the key features and benefits of Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions, demonstrating how they can transform your business operations.

What is Oracle ERP Cloud?

Oracle ERP Cloud is an integrated suite of business applications designed to help organizations manage their core business processes. From financial management to procurement, project management, and more, Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions offer a unified platform that enhances operational efficiency and decision-making.

Key Features of Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions

Comprehensive Financial Management Oracle ERP Cloud provides robust financial management capabilities, including general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, asset management, and financial reporting. These features enable businesses to maintain accurate financial records, streamline accounting processes, and gain real-time insights into their financial health.

Advanced Procurement Management Efficient procurement processes are essential for cost control and supply chain management. Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions offer advanced procurement features, such as supplier management, purchase order processing, and contract management. These tools help organizations optimize their procurement operations, negotiate better terms with suppliers, and reduce procurement costs.

Project Management and Execution For businesses involved in project-based work, Oracle ERP Cloud provides powerful project management tools. These include project planning, budgeting, resource allocation, and performance tracking. By integrating project management with other business functions, Oracle ERP Cloud ensures that projects are delivered on time and within budget.

Human Capital Management (HCM) Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions also include comprehensive human capital management features. These tools help organizations manage their workforce effectively, from recruitment and onboarding to performance management and payroll processing. By automating HR processes, businesses can improve employee engagement and productivity.

Supply Chain Management Oracle ERP Cloud offers robust supply chain management capabilities, including inventory management, demand planning, and order fulfillment. These features enable businesses to optimize their supply chain operations, reduce inventory costs, and improve customer satisfaction.

Benefits of Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions

Real-Time Data Access One of the most significant advantages of Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions is real-time data access. With integrated applications and a unified data model, businesses can gain real-time insights into their operations. This visibility allows for better decision-making and more agile responses to market changes.

Scalability and Flexibility Oracle ERP Cloud is designed to scale with your business. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions can be customized to meet your unique needs. The cloud-based nature of the platform also ensures that you can easily add or remove users and modules as your business evolves.

Cost Savings By migrating to Oracle ERP Cloud, businesses can significantly reduce their IT costs. The cloud-based platform eliminates the need for expensive on-premises hardware and reduces the burden of system maintenance and upgrades. Additionally, Oracle ERP Cloud's subscription-based pricing model allows for predictable IT spending.

Enhanced Security and Compliance Data security is a top priority for businesses today. Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions provide robust security features, including data encryption, user access controls, and regular security updates. Furthermore, Oracle ERP Cloud helps businesses comply with industry regulations and standards, ensuring that your data is protected and your operations are compliant.

Improved Collaboration and Productivity Oracle ERP Cloud fosters collaboration across different departments and teams. With integrated applications and a unified platform, employees can easily share information and work together more effectively. This improved collaboration leads to increased productivity and better business outcomes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions offer a powerful suite of tools designed to maximize efficiency and drive business success. With comprehensive features for financial management, procurement, project management, HCM, and supply chain management, Oracle ERP Cloud provides a unified platform that enhances operational efficiency and decision-making. The benefits of real-time data access, scalability, cost savings, enhanced security, and improved collaboration make Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions an ideal choice for businesses looking to streamline their operations and achieve sustainable growth.

Investing in Oracle ERP Cloud Solutions is a strategic move that can transform your business and position it for long-term success in a competitive marketplace. By leveraging the advanced features and benefits of Oracle ERP Cloud, you can maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and drive better business outcomes.