#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

[seralica]

In case anyone would like something to submit to the form, below is what I (as a long time supporter of creators on Patreon) have submitted. Feel free to use as a template and change as necessary. (This is mostly about how I hate the subscription billing model as a supporter tbh)

subject: Patrons dislike this change and will leave the platform

FORM SUBMISSION:

As a longtime Patron with your platform, I am extremely unhappy about the site-wide forced switch to subscription billing. If this goes forward, I will be looking for alternative ways to support the creators that I currently support on Patreon.

An initial draw to Patreon for me was the ability to get one bill on a predictable day (ie the 1st) of every month. It is convenient to have expenses collated, and was a benefit over existing services at the time that did not collate billing.

Recently, when I have subscribed to creators that use subscription billing, it has been ACTIVELY FRUSTRATING to me. I do not want to be billed multiple times a month by Patreon. At the very least, I want the ability to set the date on which I am billed, so that I as a consumer can opt to do what is convenient. I had already decided to only subscribe to new creators on the first of every month in response to finding out that I could not change the date.

Hearing that everyone will be migrated to this explicitly inconvenient model is frustrating as a Patron. Additionally, I am hearing from creators that this change will significantly impact their revenue through the platform.

I comprehend that Apple’s requirements may make other models difficult without the app. HOWEVER, responding by changing everyone site-wide, including those who do not, will not, and will never interact with Patreon by way of the app, is frankly nonsensical.

I would propose the alternative of simply proceeding with what you have stated is your plan for non-subscription billing users if they opt to keep their model for as long as possible:

“ If you remain on a billing model other than subscription billing after November 2024, your existing members will not experience any changes, but new fans will lose the ability to purchase a membership in the iOS app (until you switch or are migrated to subscription billing).”

Give creators options. Let them choose if they want the option to accept subscriptions through iOS. Let them choose if they want to keep another model. They are adults capable of making these decisions for themselves.

If you force creators and Patrons to use a rolling billing model, huge numbers of us WILL be searching for alternatives, because Patreon will have removed its competitive advantage.

Please think about whether this would be good for your business.

Thank you for considering.

Hey, so, Patreon is lying to you about Apple forcing their hand.

Patreon is getting rid of 1st-of-the-month/per-creation billing, claiming a new decision by Apple has forced their hand. This will hurt a lot of creatives, and their excuse is bullshit. Allow me to explain.

In 2018, Patreon tried to impose a new ill-considered fee structure on everyone that would have cost creators a lot of smaller pledges. They ended up apologizing for this profusely; they have now deleted this apology from their website and unfortunately I was unable to find it on the Internet Archive. This was shameful, but to their credit they backed off quickly when things got ugly.

Back in 2021, Patreon discussed plans to force all creators into a rolling bill structure and get rid of first-of-the-month/pay-up-front billing. The community once again very decisively shouted them down, and they had to walk it back again. This whole fiasco damaged the already shaky trust between Patreon creators and staff.

This week, Patreon announced that, along with extra fees, Apple's policies were supposedly forcing them to move everyone over to the rolling fee structure that they first tried to get us to agree to in 2021. Patreon will tell you they are not happy about this. As a person who spent a long time watching Patreon make terrible decisions, I can tell you-- they are probably very happy about this, because it's exactly the smokescreen they needed to do what they've been trying to do for years, which is pull ALL Patreon creators away from 1st-of-the-month and per-creation billing.

The spin in the news I've seen so far is "Apple bullies Patreon, boo hoo hoo poor Patreon". This is very obviously not what's happening. Mind you: Apple does suck, and they are doing something bad here. Fuck apple. But Patreon and Apple are BOTH the asshole in this situation; Everyone Sucks Here. Patreon has options: they can make the iOS app a reader app and do billing through the browser to avoid the restrictions and the extra fees (Netflix and Amazon, notably, both do this), or they can allow creators to opt-out of iOS billing if they want to use billing models that don't work with it.

It seems most likely to me that the Apple situation is a real fire that Patreon has chosen to use as a convenient smokescreen to do what they've been wanting to do since at least 2021, and maybe since 2018.

What do we do?:

They have a feedback form specifically about this.

They also have a creator discord.

And they have lots of social media pages where they probably really, really hope that this doesn't blow up again, because they never learn. The incidents I've described here aren't the only two other times Patreon has pissed off their creators. They know if they don't contain the noise it'll be harder to get away with it, so make some noise. They've done a lot of work to spin this cleverly so you'll have sympathy for them and they won't get the kind of backlash they know they deserve.

Please don't misuse these links and make threats or spam or something. All you have to do is give well-reasoned feedback. Patreon hates feedback. Make sure they get a nice heaping helping of their least favorite vegetable.

[dhruvreview]

UltraSuite Review — Create Unlimited Websites and Domain

UltraSuite is an app that helps you to create Unlimited Website, domain with hosting and Send Unlimited Emails For Profits without Monthly Fees. It’s a one time purchase solution for your Business. There is no limit to using this UltraSuite. You can use the UltraSuite app unlimited times with No technical SKills required for this and It provides high security don’t worry about Data Security issues.

>>>GET ACCESS NOW<<<

What is UltraSuite?

In today’s post I’m gonna to talk about UltraSuite. The is is a game changing tool for someone who needs a website or landing pages and email marketing tools for their business.

It’s a one suite ai based solution. It provides a high quality performance website or landing page for you. It is also user friendly and someone who is new In this field can use these tools to build their first online website or landing or marketing funnel to get more sales.

>>>GET ACCESS NOW<<<

So, Let’s talk about the features of UltraSuite?

This UltraSuite is a game changing tool that I already talked about above. Let’s know what this UltraSuite Offers?

First of all, it saves your money. You don’t need purchase domain, hosting from different different platform like namecheap, godaddy, Hostgator, Aweber, So Say goodbye,

And not only this It gives you Unlimited hosting, Unlimited email sending, and Unlimited Funnels for marketing and getting more sales. You don’t need to pay a monthly subscription for hosting, Funnel/website builder, and Autoresponder. It has 100% Newbie Friendly Interface so No need to be a pro technical expert, you can use this as a beginner. It’s fully RISK Free. Because, It offers a 30 day money back-guarantee. There is no restriction to use it Full control over your websites & domains.

Features of UltraSuite?

No more monthly subscriptions for hosting, funnel builders, or autoresponders.

100% Newbie-Friendly Interface — Get started without technical expertise.

Seamless Website Migration — Move your websites with ease.

Fast Deployment — Get your site up and running in no time.

Ultra-High-Speed Servers for fast performance.

Host Unlimited Websites, files, videos, and more.

24/7 Support — Always there when you need it.

Total Control over your websites and domains.

99.999% Uptime — Your sites are always online.

One-Click WordPress Deployment — Quick and easy setup.

Access Your C-panel for full management flexibility.

Personalized Email Accounts for your business.

Built-in Malware Protection to keep your sites safe.

Ironclad 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee — Risk-free, 100% satisfaction.

Let’s take a look at the Demo of UltraSuite?

How does this UltraSuite Works?

UltraSuite is a user-friendly tool. You can use it with Zero Technical knowledge. It has a newbie friendly user Interface So you don’t need to face any hassle. It’s a simple but very very powerful tool.

UltraSuite Works In 3 STEPS:

STEP: 1

Login-in to our secure web-based server.

STEP: 2

Choose your preferred Services you need.

STEP: 3

Access & Control Your Websites & Files in just 1 click.

Why do you need to use this UltraSuite?

First of It’s an all in one solution for you. It’s a one time fee tool and uses it lifetime in just $13.95. On the other hand if you choose other services you need more money like $1000s of dollars. So, It saves your money. Other services give you just limited control, security risks, limited customization, depend on Provider, Risk of Data Loss, Scalability Issues, Hidden Costs, Expensive Monthly Subscriptions, Poor Customer Support, There are lots of issues you need to face.

This UltraSuite solves all your problems. You don’t need to think about data loss, scalability, security and much more.

Using this UltraSuite you don’t need to think about limited issues. You can Host as many websites as you need without any limitations on bandwidth or storage. You’re getting built in C-panel, you can Control the entire web hosting platform from a central and user-friendly dashboard, simplifying management tasks. UltraSuite is the first to market Hosting which is powered by Intel, Xeon CPU technology for hosting your websites & files.

There is no limit to sending email. You can send unlimited email to your leads and customers without any limitation.

UltraSuite gives a features to create unlimited number of sales funnels to optimize your marketing strategy and maximize conversions.

It will give you Lifetime Access with just one time fee. So Enjoy lifetime access to all features and services without any recurring fees. It has no lag of loading issues, email sending time issues. It provides you super fast optimized speeds for both web hosting and email sending, ensuring rapid loading times and smooth playback.

There are no No Restrictions on usage this will allow you to scale your online presence without any limitations. Benefit from reliable performance and uptime, ensuring your websites and content are always accessible and You don’t need to think about security keep your data safe with robust security measures and encrypted storage options.

It’s available with an affordable price and saves thousands of dollars annually by eliminating the need for multiple hosting and storage subscriptions. There is no need to pay monthly or yearly fees as the UltraSuite can be purchased once and will be yours forever. It comes with a Commercial License. You can sell Unlimited hosting agency services to your clients without any restriction at all.

Also, It will give you 24/7 Support. Suppose if you faced problem, the UltraSuite customer support system solves your all issues.

How can help you UltraSuite?

UltraSuite solves lots of problems. For example: If you’re someone who is tired of shelling out cash every month for hosting and file storage. This UltraSuite solves this problem. You just need to purchase UltraSuite for one time with a cheap price. You can use it Lifetime without any problem and no need to pay monthly fees or yearly fees. Instead you can use the money on growing, scaling.

Using this UltraSuite you can do Email Marketing without any limitations. Unlimited you can do email marketing. Imagine you can manage all your websites like WordPress, eCommerce, affiliate sites, and much more without just a one time fee. And you can create unlimited high quality SEO friendly, first loading websites and funnels with full security each and every data is encrypted with SSL protection. Imagine using a Top Hosting Provider, but paying only ONCE. It’s the same, step-by-step process that our 24/7h support team can help you with.

It’s a no brainer, really. But here’s the catch. this deal won’t last forever. Time to seize the opportunity.

Who UltraSuite Is For?

Internet Marketers: Maximize your business investment with affordable, high-performance hosting.

Efficiency Seekers: Save both time and money with premium hosting that won’t break the bank.

Privacy Advocates: Ensure complete data and website security with robust protection.

Competitive Players: Gain an edge with lightning-fast, powerful websites that drive success.

Cost-Conscious Owners: Cut expenses, increase profits, and maintain top-quality online performance.

Traffic Generators: Host unlimited websites and earn high commissions — without any extra fees.

Diverse Entrepreneurs: Perfect for any business need with lifetime hosting at an unbeatable value.

Security-Minded: Shield your sites from hackers and malware with top-tier protection.

Reputation Builders: Reliable uptime and speed improve SEO and enhance your online reputation.

If this sounds like you, unlocking access to UltraSuite could be the game-changer your business needs. Don’t miss out!

It’s Time to Make a Choice for Your Website Hosting!

Right Now, You Have Two Options.

Without UltraSuite:

Tired of sky-high hosting fees, unreliable servers, and constant technical headaches?

Still stuck paying expensive monthly fees for multiple hosting services?

Hosting investments not delivering the results you expect, leaving your website performance lacking?

Risking security breaches and downtime with unreliable hosting providers?

Wasting countless hours troubleshooting and fixing technical issues on your website?

Finding it challenging and time-consuming to create and manage your website?

Paying exorbitant amounts for hosting plans and extra services?

Struggling to meet even the basic hosting requirements for your website?

With UltraSuite:

Experience hassle-free hosting with UltraSuite and revolutionize your website management.

Make a one-time investment and unlock access to this cutting-edge hosting platform.

Enjoy reliable, high-performance hosting designed specifically for your website’s needs.

Get peace of mind with secure, stable servers that keep your site always online.

Save time and effort with easy-to-use tools and features that simplify website management.

Create and manage your site effortlessly with intuitive interfaces and responsive support.

Pay once, use forever — no hidden fees, no ongoing costs.

Unlock unlimited access to all UltraSuite features with no restrictions.

So, this is the difference between UltraSuite and Other services.

UltraSuite Is Risk Free?

The answer is: YES. It’s totally risk free. It gives a 30 DAYS Money back Guarantee.

[sleepy-space-lizard]

Oh yeah, here's the email I got from Patreon:

Hey,

Apple is requiring that Patreon use their in-app purchasing system and remove all other billing systems from the Patreon iOS app by November 2024. This means that starting in November, new memberships purchased in the iOS app will be subject to Apple's 30% App Store fee.

‌You're currently on a first-of-the-month billing model, but Apple's in-app purchase system only supports subscription billing. Apple has made clear that if creators on Patreon continue to use unsupported billing models or disable transactions in the iOS app, we will be at risk of having the entire app removed from their App Store.

So, starting in November, your fans in the iOS app won't be able to purchase subscriptions to your membership until you switch to subscription billing. And, as a result of Apple's mandates and in order to make sure that you can continue getting new members in the iOS app, we've started a 16-month-long migration process to bring all creators onto subscription billing by November 2025. This means that your current billing model will be discontinued in November 2025.

We want to give you all of the tools and information you need to navigate this change in the least disruptive way possible.

To help you keep growing across all platforms, we're going to automatically switch you over to subscription billing in November 2024.

Once you're on subscription billing, you can control how Apple's fee is applied. You can either maintain your earnings by setting a higher price for new memberships purchased in the iOS app (default) or absorb the App Store fee yourself. Remember: the Apple fee only applies to new memberships purchased in the iOS app.

You can delay the migration to subscription billing by choosing to in your settings. The deadline to delay the migration to subscription billing is November 1, 2024.

If you delay, you'll be able to stay on your current billing model until November 2025, but Apple's mandate still applies. Come November 2024, your fans won't be able to purchase memberships in the iOS app until you switch to subscription billing.

We want to do absolutely everything we can to make sure that these changes are as smooth as possible for you, your fans, and your business. We didn't choose this path, but we're focusing our resources on making subscription billing an even better experience for creators and fans. This will take time and we're committed to making it happen for every creator. In the coming months, expect to hear more from us as we bring together communities of creators on first-of-the-month billing to talk about migration tips, keep you up-to-date with reminders and notifications, and share more resources to support you through the billing model change. We'll be in touch soon.

Please don't use the Patreon app on any iPhone. Apple is charging Patreon users an additional 30% fee.

Patreon is the main source of income for many creators and not everyone can afford an extra 30% on top of what they're already paying.

This is 100% corporate greed and it hurts all of us. If you can avoid using the iPhone Patreon please do so.

[yelowsoft]

Overcoming Challenges: Implementing Cloud-Based Taxi Dispatch Software for Small Taxi Businesses

On-demand taxi services have exploded in popularity in recent years. Customers love the convenience of hailing a ride with just a tap on their smartphone. For taxi companies, this growth has necessitated implementing digital dispatch software to seamlessly manage fleets and ride requests. 

However, small taxi businesses often face challenges in getting these new systems up and running. In this post, we’ll discuss how cloud-based taxi dispatch software can help small taxis overcome these hurdles and compete digitally.

Challenges Faced by Small Taxi Businesses 

Transitioning to new taxi dispatch software is no easy task for small businesses. From managing costs to learning new tech, it’s understandable to feel daunted! But going digital is necessary to keep up with larger taxi fleets. Let’s explore some of the common obstacles standing in the way of adoption.

High costs of in-house server infrastructure and IT staff. For small companies, purchasing servers and hiring expert staff to maintain these systems full-time is prohibitive. Cloud solutions save them from large, risky capital investments.

Lack of technical expertise to maintain software and hardware. From system updates to troubleshooting issues, managing digital infrastructure requires specialized skills. Small teams are stretched thin handling day-to-day operations, let alone complex IT demands. Cloud platforms take this burden off their shoulders.

Difficulty scaling current processes with business growth. As ride requests grow, legacy systems bog down. Small taxis need flexible solutions that can effortlessly scale up as demand increases. Rigid on-premise software hits a ceiling. The elastic nature of cloud-based tools allows for growth.

Issues with legacy systems integration and data migration. Integrating new software with existing tools is critical yet challenging. Cloud platforms make it easier to connect systems and migrate data with APIs and overlays. This smoothens the transition process.

Concerns over data security and regulatory compliance. Taxis handle sensitive customer and payment data. Small companies worry about protecting data in the cloud. But most providers offer robust security equal to or better than on-premise options, along with compliance with transportation industry regulations.

Benefits of Cloud-Based Taxi Dispatch Software 

Now that we’ve covered the obstacles small taxi companies face in upgrading dispatch systems, let’s explore the benefits of cloud based taxi dispatch software that can help overcome these hurdles. The benefits of cloud taxi software are numerous!

Reduced upfront costs by eliminating need for on-premise servers. No need to invest in expensive local servers and hardware that take big bites out of the budget. Cloud platforms are paid for on an ongoing basis, converting hefty capital costs into more manageable operating expenses.

Flexible payment models (subscription, pay-as-you-go) improve cash flow. Options like paying monthly subscribers or transaction fees based on usage let small businesses align costs with revenue. This improves cash flow and financial planning compared to large one-time server purchases.

Automatic software updates and maintenance by provider. Cloud platforms handle all backend system upgrades and maintenance. No need to dedicate resources to keeping software up to date and running smoothly.

Scales easily with business growth demands. Cloud-based tools make scaling a breeze. Just pay for add-ons like more user licenses or features as business needs grow. No need to worry about limited capacity down the road.

Integrates with other cloud software like accounting, CRM. Modern cloud platforms integrate easily with other cloud-based tools through APIs to streamline operations. Linking systems reduces manual errors from data entry duplication.

Highly secure and compliant with transportation regulations. Leading cloud providers implement the highest enterprise-grade security measures and protocols. Software stays compliant with any relevant transport industry regulations.

Accessible anytime, anywhere - dispatchers can work remotely. Cloud-based software allows dispatchers to access the system and manage fleets remotely from any device. This enables more flexible operations.

Data analytics and reporting for business insights. Robust cloud platforms provide rich real-time data and reporting on all aspects of operations. This powerful visibility enables data-driven business decisions.

Best Practices for Implementation 

Implementing a new cloud-based taxi dispatch system takes careful planning and execution. Following best practices will help launch the software smoothly and successfully.

Evaluate capabilities against business requirements and budget. Analyze needs, create a requirements checklist, review pricing models. Shortlist vendors that are the best fit.

Start with pilot group before company-wide rollout. Test the system with a small group first to work out kinks before expanding to everyone. Starting small reduces risk.

Train staff thoroughly on new software – both admins and drivers. Proper training and resources ensure staff adopt the system confidently. Change is difficult without support.

Migrate data in stages – focus on critical dispatch data first. Strategically migrating the most essential data first maintains continuity of crucial operations during the transition.

Leverage provider’s resources for technical support and advice. Cloud experts can share best practices for configuration and rollout based on past deployments. Tap into their knowledge.

Encourage employee feedback throughout transition. Regularly collect input from staff at all levels. This flags any issues early and improves adoption.

Phase out legacy systems gradually while testing new software. Run legacy and new systems in parallel during testing to maintain backup option before full switchover.

Market improved ease of booking to customers to build adoption. Promote the consumer benefits of the updated experience to get them excited about booking rides through the new system.

Conclusion 

Small taxi companies have a lot to gain from moving to modern cloud-based dispatch platforms. The challenges of high costs, technical barriers, scaling struggles, and data issues can all be overcome with the right solution. Cloud taxi software helps small businesses cut costs, leverage advanced capabilities, scale smoothly, and compete digitally with minimal risks. 

Following best practices for careful implementation and change management will ensure a successful launch. With staff on board and customers informed, small taxi companies can start reaping the benefits of an optimized, agile dispatch system tailored for the digital age through the power of the cloud. The road ahead looks bright and profitable!

[buzzstrategist]

How Brainquest Elevates Your Shopify Store to Market Leader Status

In today’s fast-paced e-commerce landscape, having a Shopify store is just the beginning. To stand out and become a market leader, you need more than a functional online store—you need a tailored Shopify experience that combines innovation, technical precision, and a deep understanding of your customers. At Brainquest Consultancy and Training, we specialize in taking Shopify stores to new heights, empowering businesses with the tools and strategies they need to thrive in the global marketplace.

What We Do: Comprehensive Shopify Solutions

At Brainquest, we don’t just build Shopify stores—we create market-leading e-commerce experiences. Whether you're launching a brand-new store or scaling an existing one, our team of Shopify experts offers end-to-end services that include:

Custom Shopify Development: From ground-up store creation to custom themes, we ensure your Shopify site aligns perfectly with your brand.

Store Design & Branding: Our design captures the essence of your brand, making sure every customer interaction reflects your unique identity.

E-commerce Optimization: We use cutting-edge tools and methodologies to optimize your store for performance, speed, and conversions, maximizing growth potential.

Ongoing Shopify Support: As your trusted partner, we provide continuous support and A/B testing to keep your Shopify store ahead of the competition.

Learn more about our Shopify services.

Why Shopify? The Benefits of a Powerful E-Commerce Platform

Shopify has become the platform of choice for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence. Its flexibility, vast app ecosystem, and powerful backend capabilities make it perfect for both small and large enterprises. But simply having a Shopify store isn’t enough.

That’s where Brainquest Consultancy steps in. With over three years of exclusive Shopify expertise, we leverage our experience to design stores that not only look great but also perform exceptionally well. Whether you're targeting global expansion or looking to streamline your local operations, our Shopify experts know exactly how to unlock the platform’s full potential.

Success Stories: Shopify Projects That Speak for Themselves

At Brainquest, we’ve had the privilege of working with a diverse range of clients. Here are just a couple of our standout projects:

Mersea – A Shopify store specializing in high-quality sweaters and t-shirts, designed with a focus on both user experience and visual appeal. Visit the store: Mersea.

Thenx – An online gym subscription service built using Shopify, offering fitness enthusiasts a seamless experience with gym memberships, workout gear, and exclusive training programs. Visit the store: Thenx.

By applying our Shopify expertise, we’ve helped these businesses create a polished, high-converting e-commerce presence.

Why Choose Brainquest?

Our commitment to our clients goes beyond basic store setup. We ensure that your Shopify store is built for growth, branding, and user experience. As your dedicated Shopify partner, we will:

Migrate your current store seamlessly to Shopify if you’re coming from another platform.

Redesign and relaunch your Shopify store for maximum conversions and customer satisfaction.

Implement A/B testing and ongoing optimization to ensure your store continues to perform and grow.

Explore our full range of services and see how we can elevate your e-commerce business to market leader status: Shopify Services.

Expanding Globally with Shopify Plus

For brands looking to expand globally, Shopify Plus offers unparalleled opportunities. From international pricing to multilingual support, Shopify Plus allows businesses to reach new markets with ease. Our team has helped clients expand to regions such as Europe, the USA, Canada, and beyond, using Shopify’s robust tools for international commerce.

With Brainquest Consultancy and Training, you can rest assured that your global e-commerce strategy is in good hands.

Ready to Elevate Your Shopify Store?

If you're ready to take your Shopify store to the next level, Brainquest Consultancy and Training is here to help. Our team of dedicated Shopify developers and e-commerce experts is committed to creating an online store that reflects your brand's unique identity and supports your business goals.

Schedule a free consultation today and let us show you how we can drive your business to e-commerce success.

Click here to book your free consultation

[salestowns]

Choosing the Right Helpdesk Ticketing System for Your Team: A Complete Guide

In today's fast-paced business environment, providing excellent customer support is crucial for success. A reliable helpdesk software can make the difference between satisfied customers and lost opportunities. This comprehensive guide will help you navigate the process of selecting the perfect support system for your team's needs.

Understanding Helpdesk Ticketing Systems

An IT helpdesk is more than just a tool for managing customer inquiries. It's a central hub that streamlines communication, tracks issues, and ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Modern ticketing systems have evolved to include advanced features like automation, analytics, and integrated communication channels.

Key Features to Consider

Ticket Management and Organization

Automated ticket routing

Priority-based assignment

Custom workflow creation

SLA management

Tag and category systems

Communication Tools

Email integration

Live chat capabilities

Social media integration

Knowledge base functionality

Omnichannel Chatbot support

Reporting and Analytics

Performance metrics

Customer satisfaction tracking

Response time analysis

Team productivity reports

The Rise of Omnichannel Support

Understanding what is an Omnichannel Chatbot is crucial in today's customer service landscape. These AI-powered assistants can handle customer inquiries across multiple platforms simultaneously, providing consistent support whether customers reach out through social media, email, or your website.

How Omnichannel Chatbots Work

Modern chatbots use artificial intelligence to:

Understand customer intent

Provide relevant responses

Learn from interactions

Seamlessly transfer complex issues to human agents

Maintain conversation context across channels

Benefits of Using an Omnichannel Chatbot

24/7 Customer Support

Reduced Response Times

Consistent Customer Experience

Lower Operating Costs

Scalable Support Operations

Spotlight: Salestown CRM Helpdesk

Among the various options available, Salestown CRM Helpdesk stands out as a comprehensive solution that combines powerful features with user-friendly design. Here's what makes it special:

Unified inbox for all customer communications

Smart ticket routing and assignment

Built-in knowledge base functionality

Advanced automation capabilities

Integrated omnichannel support

Customizable reporting dashboard

Competitive pricing for businesses of all sizes

Finding the Best Helpdesk Software for Small Businesses

Small businesses have unique needs and constraints. When exploring affordable helpdesk solutions for startups, consider these factors:

Scalability

Choose a system that can grow with your business. Start with essential features and upgrade as needed.

Pricing Structure

Look for:

Transparent pricing

Flexible payment plans

No hidden costs

Free trial periods

Ease of Use

Your team should be able to:

Start using the system quickly

Access key features intuitively

Customize workflows easily

Generate reports without technical expertise

Integration Capabilities

Ensure the system works with:

Your existing CRM

Email providers

Communication tools

Analytics platforms

Making the Right Choice

When selecting a customer support solution, consider these steps:

Assess Your Needs

Team size and structure

Current support volume

Common customer issues

Growth projections

Set Your Budget

Initial setup costs

Monthly/annual subscription fees

Training expenses

Additional feature costs

Test Multiple Solutions

Take advantage of free trials

Get team feedback

Test all essential features

Evaluate customer experience

Consider Implementation

Setup time required

Training needs

Data migration process

Technical support available

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right helpdesk ticketing system is a crucial decision that impacts both your team's efficiency and customer satisfaction. Whether you opt for Salestown CRM Helpdesk or another solution, ensure it aligns with your business goals, budget, and team capabilities.

Remember that the best system for your organization is one that:

Fits your current needs

Has room for growth

Provides excellent support

Offers good value for money

Integrates well with your existing tools

By carefully considering these factors and following this guide, you'll be well-equipped to make an informed decision that benefits both your team and customers.

Next Steps

List your must-have features

Set a realistic budget

Schedule demos with top contenders

Run thorough trials

Get team feedback

Make an informed decision

The right helpdesk solution will streamline your support operations, improve customer satisfaction, and help your team work more efficiently. Take the time to evaluate your options thoroughly, and don't hesitate to test multiple systems before making your final choice.

Other Blog:

WhatsApp Messages

Email Marketing

Communications Platform as a Service

[imtrinity94]

How to increase the 50 Subscriptions Limit per organization in Aria Automation

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